How Long Does It Take State Farm to Settle Claims in California?
State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurer in the US. It handles billions of dollars worth of accident-related personal injury claims every year. That means a large bureaucracy, however, which can slow down the resolution of claims. Since every claim is different, the best approach is to identify the various relevant factors. State Farm claims can take anywhere from a few weeks to a year or more to resolve.
Step 1: Send a Demand Letter
You’ll kick off negotiations by sending the insurance company a demand letter describing and justifying your claim. You’ll need supporting documentation, such as your medical bills. It’s best that you have your lawyer draft the letter and collect supporting documents.
Step 2: Negotiate Your Claim
You can expect State Farm’s first offer to be unbelievably low. That’s not a problem, just continue negotiating until you either reach a settlement or run into a stone wall. Expect many tactical moves to delay resolution of your claim or to limit its ultimate value. In most cases, negotiation lasts weeks or months.
Take Note: Insurance Company Delaying Tactics and Dirty Tricks
Never forget two inconvenient truths. First, State Farm is a for-profit business. It makes money by receiving premiums, and it loses money by paying out claims. That makes their interests directly adverse to yours. Second, insurance adjusters are professional negotiators who pursue one goal and one goal only–to save as much money as possible for their employer, State Farm. Here are some tactics you need to watch out for:
- Pretending to be your friend (“And like a good neighbor…”): This won’t hurt you directly, but it could encourage you to lower your guard when you shouldn’t.
- Arbitrarily denying your claim.
- Misinterpreting policy language to your disadvantage.
- Spying on your social network accounts and using your own words against you.
- Questioning the necessity or reasonableness of your medical treatment
- Asserting that you were partially at fault for the accident. Under California’s contributory fault doctrine, a court can lower your compensation if the opposing party can prove that you were partially at fault.
- Minimizing the value of your noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, simply because they are intangible
- Talking you into representing yourself instead of hiring a lawyer. Don’t fall for it!
State Farm, like any large insurance company, has a thousand more tricks up its sleeve. They won’t dare try most of them unless you are representing yourself or you have chosen an inexperienced or incompetent lawyer.
Step 3: File a Lawsuit (Not Always Necessary)
Not all claims mature into lawsuits, but all lawsuits start out as claims. And filing a lawsuit doesn’t mean you have to give up on settlement. You can always file a lawsuit and drop it later in exchange for a generous settlement.
Step 4: Conduct Pretrial Discovery (Not Necessary If You Don’t File a Lawsuit)
Pretrial discovery is a process whereby each side demands evidence that is in the possession of the other party:
- Depositions: Cross-examination of the other side’s witnesses under oath.
- Interrogatories: Written questions.
- Demands for the production of documents and physical evidence.
- Requests for admissions (that the defendant was driving the car at the time of the accident, for example).
You can seek court sanctions against the other side if they refuse to cooperate. In extremely complex cases, pretrial discovery can take as long as a year to complete. Most of the time, however, it’s over in a few weeks.
Step 5: Settlement
Pretrial discovery often yields so much evidence that the defendant has no choice but to settle on your terms. In any case, however, it’s best that you have your lawyer draft the settlement agreement. Typically, it takes two or three weeks to receive your settlement money from State Farm after both sides sign a settlement agreement. A lot depends on the facts of your particular case, however.
Contact the California personal injury Lawyers at The Simon Law Group Today
For more information, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer at The Simon Law Group to schedule a free initial consultation today. We have three convenient locations in California, including Torrance, Hermosa Beach, and Santa Ana, CA. We also have offices in Phoenix, AZ, and Austin, TX.
We proudly serve Los Angeles County and Orange County, CA, and its surrounding areas:
The Simon Law Group – Torrance, CA Office
2916 W 164th St Second Floor,
Torrance, CA 90504
(424) 622-0812
The Simon Law Group – Hermosa Beach, CA Office
34 Hermosa Ave,
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
(424) 722-3209
The Simon Law Group – Santa Ana, CA Office
1327 N Broadway,
Santa Ana, CA 92706
(714) 581-8546
