Insurance company stalled paying claim until after the statute of limitations was up.?

Question

I am in Texas. I was hit by a driver in Dec. of 2004. Car was a total wreck, my mom & I were forced into therapy. Immediately the insurance company (Fred Loya) tried to settle for $100. They were very persistent, but we told them to wait until we were done with our medical bills to settle the claim (this is a legal right). A few months later, we finished physical therapy and submitted the final bills to them. They stalled and stalled and stalled. We called and called and called. We asked for superviors. We asked for managers. All of them gave me some kind of run-around. TO make a long story short, this went on for over 2 years and now the VP of claims says verbally - "sorry, statute of limitations is up & law says we don't owe you anything." I can prove I sent them everything and I have call logs to show that I kept calling them. THEY stalled, not me. Texas attorneys or insurance experts: Any advice on what i can do?

Answer 1

This is the game insurance companies always play, either put the claimer under pressure to settle the claim at early stage at lowest value or if the claimer insist, like in your case, they try to waiste time to make you either forget , give up and at the best case to make you accept lowest offer( if you have fullfilled all the legal / official documentation). From the situation I can feel you haven't fullfilled yor obligations towards the paper works or may be you've delivered the claim documents / bills to the insurance company without having legal notification / acknowledgement receipt.
I believe you need to consult a legal selestor, hopping you have copies of the bills and acknowledgemt receipt from the insurance company.
From experience, there is no limitation period for the claim. The claim should remains open until settlement by a way or another. Since you haven't received any payment nor signed any settlements, the claim remains valid.
You have to be careful with this people, you have to read carefuly what ever document they process for your signature particularly small font documents / conditions. The least I can discrib these people that there are crocks.

Don't give up,
Ensure maintaining communication via registered communication / mail system i.e. you you should have evidence of your correspondence.
Always keep copy of all the corespondence.
You may hire a lawer, and make all the correspondence through his office.
You may issue a court case, subject to your lawer advise.

Sorry I couldn't be of much help, but I learned not to give up my rights.
Wish you luck.

Answer 2

Absent a written agreement to extend the SOL, you are generally SOL. However, there are some equity-based exceptions. Consult an attorney. The personal injury statute in Texas was 2 years last time I had a case there. The CA statute was extended to two years about 4 years ago--it used to be one year. Under the old one year statute, In cases involving more serious injury, it was not uncommon for the plaintiff to still be treating not only at the one year point, but beyond. The new 2 year statute affords a better opportunity for both sides to assess the claim and to explore possible pre-litigation resolution. Anyway, attorneys are very careful to file before the statute expires, regardless of the status of negotiations, unless there is a written agreement to extend. Again, check with an attorney--or two or three. By the way, if the insured--the would-be defendant--was absent from the state during the 2 years, the statute is extended by the duration of the absence. I used that once to my client's advantage. I assume this is the other driver's insurance you are talking about and not your own uninsured motorist coverage.

Answer 3

Yes the statue of limitations is two years in Texas. I must say BUT BUT BUT if there was proof of the accident such as police report if not get it if available. You can also turn it into your insurance company you should have done this when the accident occured. They will or can pay. They also will have more power to go after the other parties insurance company which in most cases they will. I hope you have some forms of contact back from the insurance company in their words of any offer this helps to establish that they know they have a responsiblity to you.
There are some fine law groups available that handles cases like yours. I would first see if they would represent you for part of the award. You get a better idea of who is willing to fight for you because they then have an investment in your claim and want to win.
You can sue for damages which can be physical, lost income, pain and suffering. Accidents Caused by Other Drivers
If you were in an accident caused by another driver, the other driver´s insurance company should pay the following costs, up to the policy´s limits:
· repair or replacement of your car
· car rental while your automobile is being repaired
· your medical and hospital bills
· wages lost because of an injury
· compensation for pain and suffering if anyone is hurt.
If the other driver´s insurance won´t cover all your medical bills, you should file a claim for the difference against your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, if you have it. For amounts over that, you can claim against your uninsured/underinsured motorists (UM/UIM) coverage or your health insurance policy.
If the other driver´s policy won´t cover all of your auto repairs, file a claim against your collision or UM/UIM coverage for the difference (minus your deductible) between the damage to your car and what the other driver´s policy will pay.
The other driver´s insurance company may ask you to sign a release to settle your claim and forgo future claims related to the accident. Don´t sign a release until you are satisfied with your total settlement. Get a letter from your doctor estimating the cost and length of your future medical treatment. You might want to consult an attorney before accepting a settlement. Under Texas law, you have two years after an accident to either settle your claim or file a lawsuit.
Texas law prohibits insurance companies from delaying payment on a claim as a means to pressure you to sign a release. If you believe an insurance company is delaying payment to you so that you will sign a release, you should file a formal complaint with TDI.
Send a complaint to the attorney General of texas and complain of insurance fraud and they purposely kept stalling . Dont deal with the other parties insurance agent or office deal with the insurance company this is who it sounds like you are dealing with. Plus make a compliant against this agent and pratices.

Answer 4

Fred Loya Insurance Claims

Answer 5

Based on what you have provided, and assuming that you can prove that you had been in contact with them in the time between now and the accident, they are potentially trying to stone-wall you. You are going to need an actual lawyer there to either contact them on your behalf ( that would probably help them remember the details ) or he may have to sue them to either force them to settle or take it to court.
It has cost them very little to ignore you so far. If you give up, they save a lot of money. I would think the one letter from the attorney would probably solve the problem immediately. They may balk a time or two at the attorney, but, I would bet they won't push their luck by going to a judge. At that point, the costs could potentially go way up for them to settle.

Answer 6

You need to file a complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance. If they will not assist you, then you may want to consider contacting an attorney. If it gets to the point where you hire an attorney, this will strengthen you case because it will show that you exhausted all available avenues before suing. The link below will help you get to a complaint form.

Answer 7

Does not matter the claim was already filed. Contact the Better Business Bureau, then contact the Federal Governments Insurance Fraud Board. These are listed on the net.

Answer 8

Fred Loya Claims

Answer 9

You need an attorney NOW. Whenever I have to deal with an insurance company I always say, "see my attorney here is his number."

Answer 10

You need a lawyer! Stay away from the ones with the big ads in the yellow pages.