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How’s your patience? Hopefully, you’re a relatively patient person. You’re going to need it in spades if you’re waiting on a settlement check after a Florida accident. While there’s sort of an estimated timeline for a Florida accident settlement, don’t start holding your breath.
In fact, don’t even start crossing days off of the calendar. You’re probably only setting yourself up for disappointment. Someone you know may settle their insurance claim in a few weeks, others may be waiting months. So, what is the average timeline for an accident claim, and can you do anything to speed up the process?
Florida Statutes and Settlement Timelines
Like pretty much every other state, Florida doesn’t give insurance companies until eternity to respond to an accident claim. The law even goes a little further and requires insurance companies to pay a claim within a set period once it’s settled.
Under Florida Statute 627.4265, insurance companies have 20 days to pay a claim once all involved parties agree to a settlement. This statute applies to the claim you file against the at-fault party’s insurance provider. When it comes to receiving compensation from your PIP provider, Florida Statute 627.736 gives your insurance company 30 days to settle your claim.
So, it may look like it only takes around 50 days to receive compensation from your no-fault insurance company and the at-fault party’s provider. Don’t get your hopes up. Unfortunately, this is rarely how quickly the process works.
Factors Dragging Out the Settlement Timeline
You’re probably aware that Florida follows no-fault insurance rules. This is why you initially file a claim with your insurance provider regardless of who’s at fault for the accident. Anything not covered by your insurer can usually go on your claim against the at-fault party’s provider. This is why the Sunshine State has two statutes regulating insurance settlement timelines. However, a few factors can drag out the timeline, sometimes for months.
Dealing with Comparative Negligence
Florida is also a comparative negligence state. This insurance rule lets more than one individual be responsible for causing the same accident. The responding authorities and/or insurance adjusters are typically responsible for assigning blame.
Why do you care about fault? If you’re assigned a percentage of the blame, your compensation is reduced by the same percentage. Typically, comparative negligence only jumps in when it’s time to file a claim against the other individual’s insurance company.
While assessing blame doesn’t take long, fighting it can drag out the settlement process. If you don’t agree with your assigned percentage of fault, your personal injury attorney can file an appeal in civil court. While your appeal is winding through the legal process, your accident claim is basically stalled. The process can get started until comparative negligence is figured out. How long this takes depends on how quickly the court is moving.
Severity of Your Injuries
Your PIP insurance only covers up to 80% of your medical costs. Depending on the severity of your injuries this can leave you with a significant amount of medical debt. You don’t want to rush treatment. This is never advisable. You never want to take chances with your health.
Since you file a claim with your PIP provider before turning to the other insurance company, calculating your medical expenses can take some time. You may need to complete medical treatment or set up long-term healthcare. This takes time and you want to get everything right the first time. Getting all of your medical expenses together is rarely a project you can tackle in a few hours, even with your attorney’s help.
You also don’t want to rush the process. If you accidentally forget to include a medical expense you can’t refile a claim at a later date. Sometimes it pays to take your time, especially when it comes to receiving compensation.
Negotiations Are Dragging On
This is usually more of an issue when you’re filing a claim against someone else’s insurance provider. Your PIP insurer may drag its feet a little but they’re probably not going to make you go through multiple rounds of negotiations.
Negotiations typically occur when the insurance company is trying to figure out ways to reduce your claim’s value. Since the insurance adjuster is actively communicating with you, the statute regarding payment timelines hasn’t kicked in. Yep, this means insurance adjusters can continually call you back for negotiations in hopes you’ll give up and accept a lower settlement offer.
By the third or so round of negotiations, you’re probably ready to settle out of frustration and desperation. Your bills are still coming in. This doesn’t stop simply because the insurance adjuster is difficult. While you always have the legal right to accept any settlement offer, it’s not always the best idea. Chances are the offer isn’t enough to cover all of your accident-related expenses.
You’re Filing a Lawsuit
Not all accident claims are resolved outside of civil court. Thankfully, the majority are settled before turning into lawsuits. When the insurance company won’t budge from a low settlement offer, the next step is usually filing a lawsuit. This means you’re in it for the long haul.
The timeline for settling a personal injury lawsuit varies on a few factors. When the court can fit your case into its schedule impacts the timeline, along with how long the legal process takes. On average, you should expect it to take about a year or so before you receive a settlement from a personal injury lawsuit.
There is a chance you can shorten this timeline. Before your lawsuit heads to trial, the judge will usually order all involved parties into mediation. Think of this as one last ditch effort to get everyone to reach an agreement. If this happens, you can significantly shorten the timeline.
Speeding Up the Settlement Process After a Florida Accident
Waiting months and even a year or so to receive compensation after a Florida accident doesn’t seem fair. However, you may be able to speed up the timeline by partnering with an experienced Florida personal injury attorney. From navigating the claim process to possibly filing a lawsuit in court, your attorney can help ensure you receive compensation in a relatively short amount of time.