Can I demand a copy of an insurance company investigation and demand a different adjuster for a second investigation?
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Can I demand a copy of an insurance company investigation and demand a different adjuster for a second investigation?
I fell from a ladder at my parent’s home while I was helping them. I have sustained a concussion and back injuries and was out of work for 3 weeks. I am still on restricted duty. My father filed a homeowners claim and the insurance company said they found no negligence and will pay a small amount of doctor’s bills but no lost wages or compensation. An insurance agent friend of mine told me that I have the legal right to see a copy of their investigation and ask for a second investigation if I don’t agree with the adjusters decision. I have asked for a copy of their findings and so has my father the insured. She says they don’t release their findings and they will not get a different
adjuster to do an investigation. They state that this adjusters investigation is final. Do I or the insured have a right to their findings? Do we have the right to request a another investigation with a different adjuster? Is there a statute that I can refer to?
Asked on April 11, 2019 under Insurance Law, Colorado
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
No, you don't have the right to their investigation or to get a "second opinion." All you can do, if you are an adult, is to sue your father for more money (you would have to sue him, as the homeowner where you were injured; you do not sue his insurer, because his insurer has no obligation to you--you are not their customer or insured). If you can prove in court his fault and the extent of your injuries or medical costs or other losses, you can get a court judgment that he pay you money--at which time, his insurer should pay for him, at least up to his policy limits. So you have to take action against your father for compensation.
Bear in mind that if your father was not at fault in causing you to fall, then the insurer is right and you are not owed anything: the law does not give you compensation simply because you are injured in another's home. The injury must be due to the homoeowner's fault.
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