QuestionThis accident happened a month ago. Is there a legal timeline that insurance companies have to abide by? Why is this taking so long? Is it true that after liability has been determined then the insurance has up to 72 hours to pay the damages?
I was hit on May 12.
The claim didn't get reported until May 17th (I don't know why)
Liability was determined. I am not at fault and my car has still not been repaired.
June 11th I leave my car at the auto body shop. My car is still there and has not been fixed.
The mechanic is 100% on my side communicating with me and telling me that the damage adjuster did not go approve/assess the further damages and cost until Thursday June 15 AND the damage assessor was not ready or had forgot some paperwork and has not yet approved payment for my car.
The mechanic advises me to tell the insurance company that storage fees will be added since the car has been sitting there since June 11th and is not being worked on.
Answer Hello Juan,
Most all states have laws that provide time limits for claims. I don't believe that is the issue here - yet.
From your description, it appears that the claim is being "handled", but with unnecessary delay.
You mention that the insurance company adjuster has not approved "further damages". This means that the body shop found additional damages that were not visibly evident when the initial appraisal was written. This is common. If that appraiser is not making the time to inspect the additional damages, check to see if there is a process where the body shop can email the photos of the additional damages for review. What the appraiser must do is approve a "supplement". Normally this can be done by photos. If that is not allowed, the appraiser has an absolute obligation to get to the body shop and take his photos. He also has the obligation to pay the shop for the additional repairs.
The storage fees are an issue between the insurance company and the body shop. Since you are claiming liability, the at fault insurance company must pay storage fees, and it must pay for a rental car for you while the car is in the shop for repairs. Don't let anyone stick you with either of those charges!
I would suggest that you contact the adjuster directly to question the delays. The appraiser will eventually forward all data to the attention of the adjuster. The adjuster is the one who is legally responsible for the claim.
You need to become proactive in your claim in order to avoid further delay. I suggest that you go to my website, http://SolutionsForYourInsuranceClaim.com to read my articles that deal with claim delays. Also check out the basic claims advice and claim help articles to find out how specifically you can become more active in your claim.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
Jane Pytel
http://SolutionsForYourInsuranceClaim.com
http://FloridaAutoInsuranceCentral.com
