How Long After An Accident Can You File A Claim?

The time you have to file a claim after an accident can vary depending on whether you are making a claim with an insurance company or filing a lawsuit.

Many car accident cases are resolved through a claim with the insurance company. This could be a claim made to your own insurer or to the at-fault driver’s insurer. The insurance company will assess the damages and make an offer of compensation they believe is appropriate given the extent of harm. If you accept, then the case is resolved.

If there’s a dispute about who is responsible for the crash or if an accident victim doesn’t believe the at-fault driver’s insurance is offering them a fair amount of compensation, a car accident lawsuit may become necessary.

It’s important to know the rules for both insurance claims and car accident lawsuits so you won’t miss the deadline that applies to your situation.

In most states, individual insurance companies can establish rules for when you must file a claim. Many companies do not set a specific time frame, such as 30 or 60 days, but instead require “prompt” filing of a claim or mandate that you file “within a reasonable time.” However, you should always check your policy to see if a set timeframe is given.

If you delay for too long, an insurer may deny the claim because of the difficulty of assessing the damages and determining the specific harm the collision caused. However, to deny your claim due to delay, the insurer would need to prove that the time that passed prejudiced your claim or harmed the insurer in some way.

In some states, the law establishes when you must file a claim with an insurer. For example, in New York, no-fault rules apply so you must obtain compensation for minor accidents from your own insurance company regardless of who caused the crash. According to New York law, you must provide written notice of your claim within 30 days of the day after the accident.

If you live in a state that sets limits, you need to comply with them. Otherwise, you may not be able to move forward with your case.

When insurance company deadlines apply, these are different from the time limits for filing a car accident lawsuit. State statute of limitations apply to determine when a lawsuit must be filed. A claim in a lawsuit will be time-barred or not allowed to proceed if you are outside of the statute of limitations.

If you plan to file a lawsuit because you don’t believe you’ll get fair compensation through an insurance claim, you’ll need to carefully research how long after an accident can you file a claim. Each individual state has its own statute of limitations for personal injury and property damage lawsuits.

These statute of limitations apply because it can become too difficult to assess the facts of the case after too much time has passed and because it’s not considered fair for people to live in constant fear of years-old accidents leading to litigation.

The statute of limitations can range from as little as one year for personal injury claims in Tennessee and Louisiana to as long as six years in Maine and North Dakota. Many states are somewhere in the middle, with a time limit ranging from two to four years for filing a case.

Regardless of how long you have to file a claim, it’s a good idea to move forward with your case ASAP. Here are some of the key benefits of pursuing a claim right away.

• It’s easier to collect evidence
• Information will be fresh in the minds of witnesses
• You’ll more easily be able to remember the details of the crash
• You’ll be better able to prove the damage resulted from the crash

Impact of Delaying Your Claim

While prompt filing is a smart decision after a crash, delaying can have adverse consequences regardless whether you are filing a lawsuit or are making a claim with your insurer.

If you delay, you may pass the statute of limitations for a lawsuit or your insurer may deny your claim because you waited too long and it is no longer possible to demonstrate the harm the collision caused. Remember, though, your insurer can deny due to delay only if state laws set time limits for making a claim or if the waiting time harmed them or prejudiced the case.

In order to promptly file your case, you will need to know who to pursue a claim against. The answer can depend on your state as well as on who was responsible for causing the collision and the resulting injury and property damage.

Your Insurance vs. Third Party Insurance

Typically, you will make a claim with your own insurer if the collision was your fault and you need to recover compensation for property damage. If you have medical payments coverage, you can also file a claim with your own insurer if you sustained injuries in a collision.

If another driver caused the accident, though, then you will make a third party claim against their insurer. You can recover compensation for property damage, medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and even emotional distress from the at-fault drivers insurance company. Your insurance company can help you to make a third party claim, or you can make one directly with the other driver’s insurer.

In some cases, drivers who cause crashes have too little insurance or no coverage at all. In these circumstances, you may want to file a claim with your own insurer to recover compensation under your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Your insurance company would stand in for the at-fault driver here and pay you the compensation the other motorist should have provided.

When deciding how to file a claim you also need to know if your state is a fault state or a no-fault state.

If you live in a no-fault state, all claims for more minor injuries will go through your own insurer regardless of who was responsible for causing the accident. Typically, your no-fault coverage— called Personal Injury Protection (PIP)—will pay for medical bills and lost wages up to a certain dollar limit such as $10,000. Some states set minimum coverage requirements for PIP.

In at-fault states, though, you will make a third party claim against the responsible motorist’s insurance to get compensation for injuries even in more minor collisions.

The following states are either no-fault states or choice no-fault states so you may go through your own insurer if you live in one and are hurt in a crash.

• Florida
• Hawaii
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Dakota
• Pennsylvania
• Utah

To file your car accident claim, you’ll want to take the following steps:

• Research how long after an accident you have to file a claim so you make sure not to delay too long.
• Contact your insurance company or the at-fault driver’s insurer. In some states, you can get help from your insurer even if you are filing a third party claim.
• Your insurer can pursue compensation from the other insurance company on your behalf.
• Provide a police report, witness statements and other evidence to the insurer. This information was hopefully obtained at the crash scene.
• Talk with an insurance adjuster. Insurers assign adjusters to the claim who work to determine the extent of damage. The adjuster will contact you to ask you about the crash and will inspect your vehicle or request that you send the vehicle to a certified repair shop for an assessment of damages. The adjuster may also ask for medical bills and injury reports from medical professionals.
• Wait for a report from the adjuster and a settlement offer from the insurer: Your insurer should provide an estimate of the damages you’re entitled to receive compensation for or the at-fault driver’s insurer will make a settlement offer which you can decide whether or not to accept.