After a motorcycle crash, your life may feel uprooted. The accident itself can lead to emotional trauma, not to mention serious injuries. Between insurance claims, doctor visits and attempting to go forward with your life, you may feel swept up in the chaos. You never have enough time. You still have a life that you have to live and you have so many priorities that filing a claim might fall to the wayside. If you’ve been caught up in the stress and chaos after an accident, it may not be too late to file a claim.
Insurance Rules
Unfortunately, insurance rules are not always simple. You have to rely on your states rules when you can file a claim. These regulations are not set by the insurance company themselves. Before you file a claim, it’s important to find out what your state laws are. You can also check your policy details for further information. Of course, most insurance companies would rather you notify them within 24 hours after a crash. Now this doesn’t mean that you can’t make your claim.
The statute of limitations refers to how long after a crash you have to file a personal injury claim. You can usually wait until the end of the state’s statute to file it with your insurer or to sue the party responsible.
Cancelled Insurance
What happens if you cancelled your insurance sometime after the accident? In some cases, this happens. Someone will either cancel his or her policy or change insurance carriers before filing a claim. This does not mean that you do not have coverage. In fact, if the accident occurred while you had insurance, then you will still be able to file a claim with that insurance company.
Claims and Lawsuits
One thing that you need to take note of is that the statute of limitations applies to claims and lawsuits. Say that there is a two-year statute of limitations in your state. This means that you have two years to file a claim with the insurance and you have two years to file a lawsuit against the responsible party. Once that statute of limitations ends, you can no longer recover damages.
It is common to end up swept away in all of the chaos after an accident. While there are statutes of limitations on when you can file a claim, it’s important to consult with a lawyer, like a Scottsdale, AZ motorcycle accident lawyer. to find out when your time is up. Even if you wait, there may still be time.
Thanks to our contributors from Yearin Law Firm for their insight into motorcycle accidents.