Denied claims happen more often than many people realize. This is at least in part because the insurance business model depends on providers taking in much more money for premiums than making payouts for unforeseen damage.
Detroit, MI – Homeowners insurance is supposed to protect against various kinds of losses. This includes severe weather, fire, theft, vandalism, and lawsuits against the homeowner. When the policyholder experiences these types of damage and files a claim, the claim may not always be approved for various reasons. This can be extremely frustrating, and at times the insurance company may be acting illegally. People who are dealing with issues related to insurance claim denials in Michigan can contact a lawyer for help.
Reasons for claim denials
Sometimes, a claim is filed but the insurance provider does not approve it for various reasons. Some of the reasons why claims are denied are paperwork mistakes by the claimant, missing a deadline to file the claim, clerical mistakes by the provider, the coverage on the policy is not applicable to the type of damage, or bad faith claim denials by the provider. In some of these situations, the homeowner may be out of luck because their policy legitimately does not apply to their damage. However, it is common for insurance companies to either make serious mistakes or illegitimately deny claims that should be paid out.
The frequency of claim denials
Denied claims happen more often than many people realize. This is at least in part because the insurance business model depends on providers taking in much more money for premiums than making payouts for unforeseen damage. In other words, it is in the insurance company’s interest to deny claims and avoid payouts as much as they can. In extreme cases, this causes insurance companies to deny claims that should be paid out based on the terms of the policy, which is a practice called bad faith denials.
Claim denials can also happen for a number of legitimate reasons. Homeowners should be familiar with the terms of their policy, their deductible amount, and time limits for making claims. The combination of legitimate and illegitimate reasons to deny a claim means that there is a good chance any given claim may not be approved.
Help after a claim denial
Most insurance companies offer some kind of appeal process to review a denied claim. There is no guarantee that an appeal will correct any issues and cause the claim to be approved. In fact, because the insurance company controls this process it is likely that the result will be the same. In many cases after a claim denial, outside help from an attorney is often the best option.
Finding a local insurance lawyer
USAttorneys.com is a website that helps people in Detroit and other cities around the country get the right kind of legal help. Anyone who needs more information about bringing various kinds of lawsuits can use the directory to find an attorney nearby.
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