May 10, 2024 | Car Accidents
Four independent agents worked together to form The Cincinnati Insurance Company in 1950. It has since become one of the largest property and casualty insurers in the United States and has billions of dollars in declared assets. The company is now part of Cincinnati Financial, a Fortune 500 company with more than 5,000 employees. The Cincinnati Insurance Company sells insurance products in 45 states, including Indiana.
If you are involved in an accident and you or the other driver has Cincinnati Insurance, you might wonder whether you can sue the insurance company. An experienced Indianapolis car accident attorney can explain your legal options. Contact Fountain Law Firm, P.C. to learn more during a free case review.
Cincinnati Insurance offers various insurance products and financial tools to consumers, including:
While every accident claim is unique, the general process of filing an insurance claim with Cincinnati Insurance will follow these steps:
The claim officially begins when you report the accident to the insurer. The insurance company representative gets basic information about the accident and the insured. A claim file is opened, and a claims adjuster is assigned to the case.
The insurance adjuster investigates the accident to determine the following information:
If their fault was totally clear, for example if there were independent witnesses or their driver admitted fault to the police officer, the adjuster will aggressively try to settle it with you. That doesn’t mean that the settlement will be fair.
Cincinnati Insurance tends to push back more on liability issues than other insurance companies. Its agents are trained to blame the accident victim for the collision or find other ways to deny the liability of the insured. After all, suppose they can argue that their insured is not responsible for the accident. In that case, Indiana law does not impose liability against them or their insured since Indiana is an at-fault state for car accidents. The driver found to be the majority at fault for the accident is financially responsible for compensating the victim to the extent of their liability.
Because the insurance company is only interested in protecting its financial interests, you must work with a personal injury attorney. An experienced attorney can conduct an independent investigation to uncover evidence to establish fault and the full extent of your damages.
Your car accident lawyer can make a claim within policy limits that fairly compensates you for your medical bills, property damage, lost wages, and other damages. They can prepare a detailed demand letter that explains the following information:
Cincinnati Insurance uses special software to evaluate the value of your injury claim. However, this software often uses average amounts that are biased in favor of the insurer to estimate a lower settlement amount. The insurance adjuster may make an offer that is lower than your personal injury lawyer’s demand.
However, your attorney can counter this and demand more compensation. Cincinnati Insurance does not typically have in-house lawyers for individual states. Instead, they contract out to other firms, which can make litigation costs higher. However, this can also create an incentive for the insurance company to settle the claim. Your lawyer can leverage this information to fight for a fair settlement.
In some circumstances, it may be necessary to file a complaint, such as if the insurance company does not offer a fair settlement or is denying responsibility. You file this complaint against the at-fault driver, not Cincinnati Insurance.
However, if Cincinnati Insurance is your primary insurer and denies your claim, you may be able to file a lawsuit against it. The accomplished legal team at Fountain Law Firm, P.C. has extensive experience fighting on behalf of claimants. We are prepared to fight for the compensation Cincinnati Insurance owes you.
Even when a claimant files a lawsuit, this does not necessarily mean the case will go to trial. Only a very small percentage of personal injury cases are tried. There may be multiple opportunities to resolve your case before trial through mediation or negotiations. The goal of your Indiana car accident lawyer is to help you obtain the best result possible based on your case. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation case consultation.
Cincinnati Insurance and other insurance companies use various tactics and strategies to deny or minimize claims. Some reasons are legitimate, while others are not. Common reasons insurance companies deny claims include:
The claims adjuster may state that you did not have coverage under the terms of the insurance policy. For example, you may have forgotten to pay the bill, and the insurance lapsed. Or, a policy exclusion applies, such as a person who was excluded from the policy was driving at the time of the accident. Lack of coverage is a common reason why insurers deny claims, so you must have a legal professional review the terms of your insurance policy when you file a claim.
Sometimes, insurance agents will meticulously review your insurance application to try to find any inconsistency they can use to deny your claim. While some application errors may provide a legitimate basis for a claim, sometimes, this approach is simply a ruse for the insurance company to try to avoid paying a valid claim. An experienced lawyer can review your policy and application to determine if there is a genuine issue or whether the insurance company is acting in bad faith.
Sometimes, insurance adjusters will claim that their policyholders are trying to commit fraud – even when there is no basis for this claim. They hope that the insured will simply drop the claim out of fear of criminal penalties.
Errors can sometimes arise during the claim process. For example, a claim notice provision may state that you must notify your insurer within 24 hours of an accident. If you miss this timeline, the insurance company may state that you have forfeited your right to make a claim. In other situations, the insurance adjuster may state that you did not fill a form out correctly or that you did not provide the requested information within a specified time.
An experienced lawyer can review these claims and help argue in your defense, such as that you made a good-faith effort or that it was impossible for you to comply with the requirement because you were under medical care.
Sometimes, the insurance company does not have a valid reason to deny your claim. The insurer may act in bad faith by ignoring its obligation to you as a policyholder and only considering its financial interests. Signs that Cincinnati Insurance is acting in bad faith include:
The Indiana Unfair or Deceptive Acts and Practices statute prohibits conduct of this nature and imposes civil penalties for insurance companies that violate the rules. If you suspect Cincinnati Insurance wrongfully denied your claim or otherwise acted in bad faith, contact an experienced car accident lawyer today who can advise you if you have grounds to file a bad faith claim.
If you were injured because of another party’s negligence or Cincinnati Insurance has issued a bad faith refusal for your claim, you may be able to recover compensation for:
An experienced personal injury lawyer can review your situation and help you take legal action to recover fair compensation.
If you were injured in an accident and Cincinnati Insurance has denied your claim, Merry Fountain and the Fountain Law Firm, P.C. want to help. We know what it’s like to have your life derailed by the negligence of others. Contact us today for a free case review. You can reach us by calling (317) 608-5226 or filling out our online contact form.