Knowing what the deadline is for reporting a claim to the insurance company and understanding what happens if you do not comply with it is essential to know what your rights are in the event of a claim.
To answer the above questions we must take into account article 16 of the Insurance contract law. Said article determines that the insured has a maximum period of seven days to notify the insurer of the loss, except in cases where a longer period is specified in the policy.
In practice, most policyholders comply with their obligation to report the claim almost immediately. And this makes all the sense in the world, because when an accident happens to us, what we all want is for the company to help us as soon as possible. For this to happen, the company must be aware that the incident has occurred.
But since life is not perfect, it may happen that the communication of the incident does not occur within the set period. At that moment the question arises as to whether the company has to take over or not.
What happens if I delay in communicating the claim to the company?
In general, insurance companies do not usually cause problems even when you notify them after the claim has expired.
We want to clarify that it is not the same to notify within a month or when a long period of time has passed, because in the latter case it is much more difficult for the company to investigate the causes of the incident.
You have to keep in mind that slow communication can cause damage, which could claim you.
Having answered this question, the next one that is usually asked is…
Can the company refuse to pay me compensation if the claim is not reported within the deadline?
The answer is no.
If you have not reported the accident to the insurer within the stipulated period, it cannot, without further ado, refuse to cover it.
It is clear that he can do it for other reasons, but not only because of the late communication.
The law indicates that late notification does not exonerate the insurer from its obligation to pay, but only allows it to claim damages caused by failure to report the claim.
Justifying damages is a convoluted process.
That is why insurers do not usually cause problems when the claim is reported, even if the legal deadline has passed. They are well aware that they cannot excuse the delay in communication for not taking charge.
Obviously, as we mentioned before, they may reject the claim for other reasons, but they will rarely do so for not having communicated it in time.
It should also be borne in mind that, if the company became aware of the loss through another means, and voluntarily decided not to be interested in it, then it will not be able to claim for this reason.
If your insurance company refuses to attend to a claim for not having communicated it within the deadline and you want them not to mess with you, consult us.
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