QuestionMy car was stolen on 02/07/09 in the evening and I filed the claim on 02/08/09, Geico stated that I had to wait 20 days 02/27/09. Around March 17th, I received a letter dated for the 03/10 stating they were looking into my comphrensive insurance. But on 03/13/09 I received a call from a SIU asking to set up a meeting with me. I called him on 03/16 and set up to meet at my home at 03/19. On 03/23 I received a call from Geico telling me that the SIU was in charge of my case. It has been 60 days since my theft and 59 days since I filed the claim. Is there a time limit to close the claim in CT? Should I be worried? The man told me to email me if I had a questions and I did but I never heard back from him. Does this mean they are going to deny my claim.
AnswerHello Shelby,
Either they think you filed a phoney claim for theft, or they are using unfair claim practices to avoid paying your claim. In either case, you need to start building your own file, as if your claim could end in litigation.
After 60 days, it's unlikely the police have enough "beyond a shadow of a doubt" type evidence (if any) to arrest you on criminal charges. But the insurer may think they have enough enough "preponderance of evidence" to deny your claim in a civil court (if you sue them). The insurer also may not have anything on you other than they don't like the way you dress or your hair style. They may be using the only weapon they have, "delay", in hopes that you will fade away.
Aside from that, at some point the insurer must legally accept or deny your claim in writing and state the reasons (and they may never send this letter unless you press them on it). While the law may give so many days for them to do this, most states will allow the insurer to extend its "investigation" for months, as long as the insurer sends a letter to the insurance department every so often that they need more time.
You can get a copy of the unfair claims practices regulations for CT, pertaining to claims handling in general. It should not be over a page or two. And get a copy of the CT claims handling regulations pertaining to automobile claims. That should not be over a few pages. Go to the county law library and ask the clerk to help you find them. These will give you information such how long they have to respond to your communications (eg. 14 days) and how much time they have to accept or deny your claim. You may also find this stuff online at www.findlaw.com in the "for legal professionals" section.
You can also view the eBook descriptions and tables of contents on denied claims and insurance claim practices laws in the "Denied/Misc." section on the Products page at http://www.uclaim.com/ . These eBooks will save you a lot of time and are full of good advice.
In my opinion, hiring a lawyer on an hourly basis would not be cost effective and its unlikely any lawyer would pursue a denied vehicle claim on a contingency fee due, even if your vehicle was a $50,000.00 car.
