My insurance company won’t fix my car or pay me for the write-off after the accident. What can I do?

1. Commercial & Insurance Law
My insurance company won’t fix my car or pay me for the
write-off after the accident. What can I do?
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP www.stlawyers.ca
Unfortunately, this is a very common question. Insurance companies often drag out the
“investigation” process after an incident involving your car (car accident, theft, vandalism, etc.). The
adjuster assigned to your case will want to meet with you, take a statement (and usually tape it), and
ask you nicely to provide them with a bunch of documents that have nothing to do with your claim.
You agree to all of their requests because you want to cooperate and help your adjuster help you.
But then the adjuster stops returning your phone calls and emails, or they tell you that they need
to do further investigation because things don’t add up or they’ve noticed discrepancies. Eventually
your claim gets transferred to the SIU (Special Investigation Unit) and months have passed. What do
you do? What are your options? Should you be worried?
The answer to the last question is “yes”. The reason I say that is because by the time you realize that
your claim is going nowhere, you may be out of time to do anything about it.
Remember: You have 1 year from the date of the incident to sue your insurer for your property
damage claim (i.e. for your car repairs, write-off, etc.). After the 1-year mark, you automatically lose
that right and you literally can’t do anything to recover the money that your insurance company
owes you.
It is, therefore, very important that, as soon as you notice any hint of delay or lack of communication
from your insurance company, you contact a lawyer that specializes in insurance law. If you are told
that your claim has been transferred for SIU for handling, contact an insurance lawyer immediately.
Don’t wait. SIU adjusters are specialists in fraud investigation and if the file is in their hands, it means
that there is a problem.
For More Information,
Sivan Tumarkin of Samfiru Tumarkin LLP (Toronto, Ontario)
416-216-5910 / sivan@stlawyers.ca / www.stlawyers.ca