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An insurance company has 10-45 days to settle a claim in most states, and it takes about 30 days on average to settle a car insurance claim. For instance, insurers in New York must pay a claim within 35 business days, while Virginia insurers must settle a claim “reasonably promptly.”
Insurance companies always have to follow state laws, which are sometimes divided into separate timeframes to acknowledge a claim, decide on a claim, and pay a claim. The table below lists the total amount of time that an insurer has to complete the process.
How Long Car Insurance Companies Have to Settle a Claim by State
| State | Claim Settlement Time Limit |
| 75 days | |
| 40 working days | |
| 40 days | |
| 45 working days | |
| 85 days | |
| "Reasonably promptly" | |
| "With reasonable promptness" | |
| 45 days | |
| 64 days | |
| 40 days | |
| 45 days | |
| "Reasonably and promptly" | |
| 45 days | |
| "Reasonably promptly" | |
| 75 days | |
| 25 working days | |
| 45 days | |
| "Reasonably promptly" | |
| "Within a reasonable time following receipt of written notice" | |
| 30 working days | |
| "Promptly" | |
| "Promptly" | |
| 45 business days | |
| 40 to 50 days | |
| 25 days | |
| "Reasonably promptly" | |
| 45 working days | |
| 80 working days | |
| 35 working days | |
| Between 40 and 100 days | |
| "Reasonably promptly" | |
| 35 business days | |
| "Reasonably promptly" | |
| With "reasonable promptness" | |
| 46 days | |
| 75 days | |
| 60 days | |
| 25 days | |
| 55 business days | |
| With "reasonable promptness" | |
| No specific requirement | |
| With "reasonable promptness" | |
| 35 business days | |
| 45 days | |
| 35 business days | |
| "Reasonably promptly" | |
| 45 working days | |
| 40 working days plus a “prompt” investigation | |
| 10 days | |
| "Reasonably promptly" |
What to Do While Waiting for a Claim Settlement
While you’re waiting for an insurance claim to be settled, you can help speed up the process by responding quickly to any requests for information.
If your claim is taking too long to settle, you have several options. You can start by directly asking your insurer what is causing the delay. If you don’t receive a satisfactory response, you can reach out to your state’s insurance regulator for help. And if you believe your insurer is acting in bad faith, you might want to hire an attorney.
For more information, check out WalletHub’s complete guide to auto insurance claims.
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