Insurance Disputes
Insurance is something we undertake to shore us up and provide protection against any eventuality. So when insurance claims are rejected and insurance companies say they’re ‘not liable’ your claim may be refused, or the payments are not as expected, it’s good to have a specialist insurance dispute solicitor on your side.
The actual definition of insurance is an arrangement by which a company undertakes to provide a guarantee of compensation for specified loss, damage, illness, or death, in return for payment of a specified premium. It is meant to provide protection against any possible eventuality, but clients come to Pearson Solicitors when they feel let down by their insurance companies.
If you have had an insurance claim refused the insurance dispute lawyers at Pearson Solicitors are here to help you.
Insurance Disputes Solicitors
Our insurance dispute solicitors can offer you advice and assistance when your insurance company has rejected your claim, refused to pay what your claim is worth, or given some other reason not to pay you.
The insurance company may be alleging you failed to tell them something important when the policy was taken out, or that you have exaggerated the value of your claim and these are the main reasons why claims are often rejected or disputed.
Types of Insurance Disputes
The sorts of insurance disputes we deal with include:
- rejected life insurance claims
- insurance claims for rejected critical illness cover or income protection claims
- building damage claims
- rejected high value motor vehicle claims
Our services cover advice and assistance, correspondence with the insurer to argue your case, formal complaints to the Ombudsman and the issuing of court proceedings, if necessary.
What to do if an Insurance claim is rejected
At Pearson Solicitors our insurance disputes solicitors can legally unpick the arguments put forward by insurers to avoid paying out on a claim. We will investigate those terms and conditions, examine the small print and exclusion clauses and find out if you have a claim against the insurer.
Our insurance department give pragmatic advice, working hard to get clients the policy pay out they deserve.
The Pearson team have an excellent track record in dealing with insurance disputes. We have acted for clients against major insurers, such as Aviva, Ageas, Legal & General and others.
Challenging the Insurance Companies
In many cases insurance companies settle without dispute, but when a challenge is made and a claim rejected it can be worrying. That is where the Pearson insurance dispute lawyers can take over and dispute the rejected insurance claim for you.
If your insurance claim has been wrongly refused or the policies are incorrectly voided, we will work hard to get you the money owning to you.
Our team has an excellent track record of achieving out of court settlements, successful pre-action negotiation, and will of course also assist with complaints to the Financial Services Ombudsman in respect of rejected claims by insurers. A complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman must be made within 6 months of the date of your insurer’s final response - unless there are exceptional circumstances for the delay.
Why Insurance Claims are rejected
Claims are rejected for a wide variety of reasons such as: something not declared on the policy, a misrepresentation on the application form, non-disclosure and information withheld, (such as existing medical conditions), a procedural mistake, or something contained within the terms and conditions.
The insurance industry is highly complex and can appear daunting, but our team relish the challenge and our sector knowledge and specialism in this area is essential.
Our team will investigate every angle to see if the refusal is in fact valid, but claims can be rejected for any of the following reasons:
- Misrepresentation
- A lapsed policy with payments not kept up to date
- A change in circumstances
- A policy which has ended and not been renewed – check if you have ‘term’ insurance or ‘whole of life’ insurance in these cases
- A high-risk activity which is not declared
- Missing documentation
- Suicide and death due to alcohol or drug abuse are probably excluded from most policies, but it pays to look at the small print as cover varies from company to company.
How to dispute a rejected Insurance Claim?
Disputing a rejected insurance claim can be a complex process. Our insurance disputes solicitors will discuss your claim via email, Teams, WhatsApp, Zoom, or whatever communication channel clients prefer.
In order to process with disputing a rejected insurance claim we will need the following:
- Your rejection letter from your insurer.
- Your insurance policy, including terms and conditions.
- Ideally a copy of the 'statement of fact' as declared when the insurance policy was taken out.
- Any unique policy details, such as specified high value item values, as in the case of jewellery, wine, art work.
If your claim is refused then our team of insurance disputes lawyers will review your insurance policy and the insurer’s rejection letter to see if you have a claim. We can then advise accordingly on your right to challenge the refusal. Many cases are settled out of court on receipt of a solicitor’s letter, but we can also assist clients when they need to refer the claim to the Financial Ombudsman Service or indeed issue formal court proceedings.
How much will an insurance dispute cost
At Pearson Solicitors we work on an hourly basis and it will usually take 4-6 hours to review all relevant documentation, provide an advice and send a letter to your insurers to dispute its rejection (if so advised).
Each case varies from client to client, but we do give an estimate of all costs and are up front and transparent with clients about this before proceeding.
Contact our Insurance Dispute Solicitors
There are key legal principles and legislation in place to protect you when insurance is refused and our insurance dispute experts help you make sense of the small print. No matter how complex your insurance dispute case we will give you the right legal advice.
We also work with many business who sometimes get insurance claims rejected.
