Car body damages | Can I make a claim after a year?

by Tracy
(Atlanta, Ga, US)

I was in an accident roughly 1 1/2 ago and the other party did not have insurance and I received body damage to the side of my car.

I figured it to just be a loss. I have since changed insurance companies. Is there a statue of limitations in Georgia that I must adhere to so that I can report the claim to my previous insurance company?

Simply put, can I file with my old insurance company for damages done to my car from an accident over a year ago


Answer:


Hello Tracy,

Most likely yes, you will be able to file. There are two concepts here worth clarifying here.

Statute of limitations applies to the party who hit you. In other words, if you check for the statute of limitations for property damage, you may only file a claim within 2 years, 3 years, or 4 years (whatever your state statute of limitations may be).

These statute does not apply on this situation as this is a claim against your own insurance company (a contract claim), and thus the contracts statute of limitation will likely prevail.

The only caveat is that your insurance company will get very sketchy about the length of time that has passed. You do have a duty to report a claim within a reasonable time, and thus this can give you problems. Insurance companies uses this clause a lot when you have switch insurance companies.

You can always file and see what happens. Present all evidence you have and let them investigate.



Good Luck
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/