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Lambo, Tesla, Buggati, Oh My!

l.simmons86@gmail.com (Lynette Hoag) — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 15:35:48 GMT

How to Get the Full Value of Your Car

A car is one of the most valuable assets you have. Disagree? Get into a wreck and find yourself without it for months or weeks. Turns out, you need it like air. When it comes to the value of your car in your day to day and the actual cash value of your car, you may discovery that the insurance company has a much lower price than you do. You may even discover that though the damage to your car is minor, it cannot be repaired.

You may not have considered how much you would get back from your insurance company if you totaled your car. But the way an insurance company values your car is very different your the Blue Book value or even the amount you could get back if you sold your car to an interested stranger. How do insurance companies value your car? They have their own internal proprietary ways of limiting the value of your car and making it difficult to break even with the payout. If you have an older model car, you may not recovery what you believe it is worth. But if you have a luxury, custom or newer model car, most insurance policies have a loophole that helps you recover the real value of your vehicle. That's right! A provision call Appraisal is designed to work in favor of you, the insured. Call today to find out how!

1-800HOAGLAW. #insurancedispute #insuranceclaim

5 Do's & 5 Don'ts When Making an Insurance Claim

Mon, 26 Apr 2021 14:53:24 GMT

You are a miracle. You have been insured for years and never had a claim. Insurance companies love you because you have never caused them a dollar in revenue. But circumstances change and you can no longer avoid the claim process. You've been rear-ended, your house has flooded and you hurt your back at work. Claims must be made. Insurance companies must be called. You will be required to jump through hoops and complete paperwork to get the benefits to which you are entitled after years of paying premiums. Follow the tips below to maximize your success:

5 Do’s

1. Do request and secure a certified copy of your insurance policy;

2. Do make a prompt or timely claim with your carrier;

3. Do produce the documents the insurer request to support your claim;

4. Do be straightforward and honest in your dealings with your insurance company; and

5. Do file a police or incident report if your policy requires it;

Now that you have done the right things to get your claim(s) underway, you will have to watch out for mistakes that cause your payment to be delayed or worse, denied. We all want to be covered at the maximum rate available under the policy. However, there is a fine line between being proactive and "pushy". Take a look at the tips below to keep you claim moving in a positive direction.

5 Don’ts

1. Don’t be “pushy” for settlement;

2. Don’t stonewall or hide facts that are necessary for the investigation of your claim;

3. Don’t pad your claim with items that were not stolen or damaged;

4. Don’t exaggerate or overstate your loss or injury in your statement to your insurance company; and

5. Don’t fake documentation you cannot locate or do not have.

What To Do If You Are In An Accident

l.simmons86@gmail.com (Lynette Hoag) — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 19:01:16 GMT

5 Things to Do after an Accident

No one wants to be in an accident of any kind. No one wants to suffer the property damage is it sure to cause, the time talking to police and completing reports, or worse, possible prolonged recovery from injury. But sometimes the unavoidable happens. You're driving along, minding your own business when you're rear-ended by someone who it texting a driving. Or you make a sudden stop to avoid a pedestrian. Maybe you slip and fall or ice or water in a store. Accidents happen and here are a few things you can do to make it easier on yourself if you are injured and require medial treatment. Let's take one of the most common accidents, a car accident. If you are injured in a car accident you might want to make a claim for the injury and damages to your insurance company or the insurance company of the at-fault driver.

Here are a five important must do's in the unfortunate event you are in an automobile accident. These tips will help you through it and make the claim process easier:

5. Call the police & complete a police report;
4. If anyone is hurt, seek medical attention;
3. Get and keep contact information and phone numbers;
2. Take pictures of the scene;
1. Make sure the at-fault driver gets a ticket!

Do not be the at-fault driver this weekend. Take it easy and be a defensive driver. However, if you have insurance it is designed to protect you in the event you make a driving error. Keep that insurance card handy and be careful out there.

If you have or someone you love or been injured in a car accident, please call the Hoag Law Group, LLC today! Call now: 1-800-HOAGLAW.

It's Not Fair! Your Denied Claim

Sun, 13 Sep 2020 14:55:30 GMT

The Illinois Unfair Claims Law Practices Act and Your Insurance Claim

Insurance in Illinois is heavily regulated. The law concerning your insurance coverage is not only contained within the four corners of your insurance policy, it is also contained in the Illinois Insurance Code. The Code regulates the manner in which insurance companies must handle your claim, among other things. Not only do you as the insured have duties under your policy, but the insurance company duty to handle your claim promptly and fairly.

The Code clearly defines acts that constitute improper claims practices in 215 ILCS 5/154.6. The following acts are considered improper claims practices:

Knowingly misrepresent to claimants or insured relevant facts or policy provisions relating to coverage;
Failing to acknowledge with reasonable promptness pertinent communications with respect to claims arising under its policies;
Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards for prompt investigations and settlement of claims arising under its policies;
Not attempting in good faith to effectuate prompt fair and equitable settlement of claims submitted in which liability has become reasonably clear;
Compelling policyholders to institute suits to recover amounts due under its policies by offering substantially less than the amount ultimately recovered in suits brought by them;
Engaging in activity which results in a disproportionate number of meritorious complaints against the insurer received by the Insurance Department;
Engaging in activity which results in a disproportional number of lawsuits to be filed against the insurer or its insureds by claimants;
Refusing to pay claims without conducting a reasonable investigation based on all available information;
Failing to affirm or deny coverage of claims within a reasonable time after proof of loss statements have been completed;
Attempting to settle a claim for less than the amount to which a reasonable person would believe the claimant was entitled, by reference to written or printed advertising material accompanying or made part of an application or establishing unreasonable caps or limits on paint or material when estimating vehicle repairs;
Attempting to settle claims on the basis of an application which was altered without notice to, or knowledge or consent of, the insured;
Making a claims payment to a policyholder or beneficiary omitting the coverage under which each payment is being made;
Delaying the investigation or payment of claims by requiring an insured, a claimant, or the physicians of either to submit a preliminary claim report and then requiring subsequent submission of formal proof of loss forms, resulting in the duplication of verification;
Failing in the case of the denial of a claim or the offer of a compromise settlement to promptly provide a reasonable and accurate explanation of the basis in the insurance policy or applicable law for such denial or compromise settlement;
Failing to provide forms necessary to present claims within 15 working days of a request with such explanations as are necessary to use them effectively;
Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards to verify that a repairer designated by the insurance company to provide an estimate, perform repairs , or engaged in any other service in connection with an insured loss on a vehicle is duly licenses under Section 5-301 of the Illinois Vehicle Code;
Failing to provide as a persistent tendency a notification on any written estimate prepared by an insurance company in connection with an insured loss that Illinois law requires repairers must be licensed in accordance with Section 5-301 of the Illinois Vehicle Code; and
Engaging in any other acts which are in substance equivalent to any of the foregoing.

If your insurer has engaged in any of these acts please call us for a free consultation.