Insurance Claims in Montana
What Are Insurance Claims?
Filing an insurance claim in Montana can be stressful. Every policy differs, and insurance companies may not pay you what you deserve. In many cases, hiring an insurance claim lawyer is necessary. This page breaks down the nuances of different types of insurance claims.
What Is a Property Insurance Claim?
A homeowner’s insurance policy is designed to protect your property from damage under specific circumstances. If you experience a covered loss, working with a dedicated property insurance attorney can help ensure you receive the benefits needed to repair or rebuild your home.
In cases where an insurer delays or denies your claim, consulting an attorney about a potential bad faith claim is crucial. Successfully taking your claim to court may allow you to recover not only your coverage benefits but also court costs and attorney fees. Depending on laws, you might even be entitled to additional compensation.
What Types Of Damage Claims Apply to Property Insurance?
Specific geographic regions impact the design of insurance policies. For example, Florida property insurance policies have more provisions for hurricanes versus earthquakes.
The Montana State Auditor provides a general homeowner’s guide that helps property owners manage their assets. This can help homeowners differentiate between areas such as replacement costs and actual cash value, as well as understand what may or may not be covered in the state. 98% of homeowner claims generally result from damage due to fire, wind and hail, or flood. Damage from flooding is generally the most common claim.
How to File a Property Insurance Claim in Montana
After you suffer a loss, you must contact your insurer as soon as possible. Taking this step begins the insurance claim process and gets things moving along. You need to notify your insurance company in writing or over the phone. From there, your insurer appoints a claim representative.
What to Expect Afterwards
The Montana State Legislature clarifies that an insurance company has 30 days to pay the claim after proof of loss. However, there is an exception to this rule. If an insurer makes a reasonable request for further documentation of the damage, such as pictures or having an inspector review the damage, then they are legally able to push this timeline. What becomes illegal, or acting in “bad faith” is to purposely take extra time to drag out the process.
Such a case is currently being taken to court in Montana, regarding mine workers. AP News reports that mine workers became sick due to working conditions from asbestos have alleged that the health insurance company is acting in bad faith. According to the workers, the insurance company is delaying payments for both medical care, and punitive awards that have been granted by the court.
What Is an Auto Insurance Claim?
Auto insurance claims involve requesting compensation from an auto insurer after an accident. Car accidents are incredibly stressful, especially if there are uncooperative responsible parties. However, your insurer’s job is to work on your behalf to secure compensation for repairs, injuries, and other expenses.
What Do You Do After a Car Accident?
Auto accidents can be scary and traumatic. KRTV Great Falls reports that there has been a striking uptick in car crashes, resulting in 34 fatalities as of April 2022. If you are involved in an auto accident, the most important thing you can do is to try and remain calm.
Check yourself for any injuries that may have occurred, and do the same for anyone else who may have been involved in the accident. Then you should get statements and gather information from anyone nearby who saw the accident. You should call the police and file a report, as well as filing a report with your insurance company. The Montana DOJ provides online forms that you can fill out and submit after an auto accident.
Auto Claims Adjuster
Your auto insurance company will assign a claims adjuster to your claim report. Your adjuster acts as your representation in any mediation between you and all other involved parties. This insurance representative bears responsibility for investigating the claim and seeing that you receive compensation for any repairs or injuries.
Whether there are repair claims, personal injury claims, or you are dealing with someone who does not have insurance, your auto insurance adjuster should see you through the process. Your claims adjuster may recommend a garage to handle your vehicle repairs. They may also make arrangements for a rental vehicle if required. The most important thing to note is that your auto-claim adjuster is your primary point of contact regarding the status of your claim in Montana.
Health Insurance Claims
Montana policyholders file health insurance claims when they seek reimbursement for medical services or treatments. When you obtain a medical service from a provider, your health insurance carrier should be notified directly. If there are any discrepancies in your claim, consider hiring a health insurance claim specialist attorney.
How Do You File a Health Claim in Montana?
There are two ways to file a health insurance claim on your behalf. The first is the medical facility notifies your insurer for you. You may be able to walk out of the facility without spending anything, but that depends on your policy. The other way is to file a health insurance claim yourself. Taking this route can occur when a health provider you use is not in your provider network. The facility may still file the claim on your behalf, but you may need to file it yourself.
Healthcare can be expensive and sometimes draining. It’s important to have enough information about the healthcare process so you can make it as simple as possible. The Montana Insurance Commissioner provides an overview of what is entailed in the filing process. You will generally receive an itemized bill of services from your healthcare provider that must be submitted to your insurance carrier. However, US News recently reported that Montana has upheld health insurance alternatives in the state. Healthcare sharing ministries and direct patient care clinics are no longer regulated as insurance.
Work with an Experienced Local Insurance Lawyer in Montana
If your health insurance provider refuses to honor a claim, seek out a qualified Montana insurance claim attorney’s help. An insurance claim attorney can help if you have been improperly denied coverage or sent a bill for a service you never received. We can even help you connect with an attorney across Montana state lines.
Submit a request online or call us today at (866) 345-6784 to get in touch with an experienced lawyer in your area!
About the Author
Aaron is a professional legal writer with a B.S. in English Education from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. He has written, published, and edited thousands of legal articles for RequestLegalHelp, which has connected over 5 million people to legal help in the United States.
With over five years of experience writing thousands of legal articles for law firms across the U.S. and Canada, Aaron specializes in covering federal, state, and city-level legal issues ranging from auto accidents to wrongful terminations. Contact Aaron at [email protected] for article suggestions, collaborations, or inquiries.
There are still other areas of law in Montana that could affect your case. Check out more details on the other articles on our site.
