---
title: "Tampa Insurance Dispute Lawyer | Hancock Injury Attorneys"
description: "Is your own insurer delaying, denying or lowballing your claim? Work with a former insurance defense lawyer. Free consultation: call (813) 915-1110."
url: "https://novacock.carlosarias.com/practice-areas/insurance-disputes"
---

Practice Areas

# Insurance Disputes

When your own insurance company delays, denies or underpays an injury-related claim, we push back with an inside view of how insurers work.

  [Call (813) 915-1110](tel:+18139151110) [Free Case Consultation](/contact/)

## Tampa Insurance Dispute Lawyers With an Insider's View of the Claims Process

You paid your premiums so your insurer would be there when you needed it. When it stalls, denies or offers far less than your claim is worth, it can feel like a second injury. Our founder spent years defending insurance companies, and we use that experience to hold insurers to the policies they wrote.

## When Your Own Insurer Becomes the Obstacle

Your insurance policy is a contract. You pay premiums, and the company promises to pay covered claims. After a crash, though, many people find their own insurer slow to respond, quick to deny and eager to pay less than the policy promises.

We regularly help clients with disputes like these:

- PIP denials and cutoffs. Benefits denied because treatment started after the 14-day window, capped at $2,500 in a dispute over whether you had an emergency medical condition, or cut off after an exam by the insurer's chosen doctor, leaving providers to bill you directly.
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims. When the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little, you claim against your own UM coverage, and your insurer becomes the party you are negotiating against.
- "You don't have UM coverage." In Florida, UM coverage can only be rejected or reduced in writing. If your insurer can't produce a signed rejection or selection form, you may have coverage you didn't know about.
- Property damage and diminished value. Low repair estimates, disputed total-loss values and, for high-end vehicles, diminished value claims against the at-fault driver's insurer when a car loses market value because of its accident history.
- Delay. Repeated requests for the same documents, unanswered calls and a claim that never seems to move.

## An Insider's View From the Other Side

Before founding our firm in 1996, Mike Hancock worked as an insurance defense attorney, defending insurers including Allstate, State Farm and Geico, as well as Fortune 500 companies. He saw firsthand how adjusters evaluate files, which arguments carriers use to reduce claims and which cases they choose to fight.

Today we use that experience for policyholders. We know what a complete claim package looks like, how to answer the objections adjusters raise, and when a dispute needs to move from negotiation to a lawsuit. Meet Mike Hancock.

## Recorded Statements, Medical Exams and Authorizations

Recorded statements. You generally have no obligation to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer. Your own policy is different: it may require you to cooperate with the company's investigation. Cooperating doesn't mean going in unprepared. Talk with us first so you understand what will be asked and how your words may be used.

Independent medical exams. Your insurer may ask you to see a doctor it selects and pays, often called an independent medical exam (IME). Refusing without good reason can put your benefits at risk, yet the exam report is also a common basis for cutting off PIP benefits. We help you prepare, make sure your treating doctors' findings are part of the record, and challenge reports that don't hold up.

Medical authorizations. Be careful with broad authorization forms. Insurers sometimes use them to search years of unrelated records for a pre-existing condition to blame. Let us review any authorization before you sign it.

## When an Insurer Acts in Bad Faith

Most disputes come down to evidence and policy language. Sometimes, though, an insurer's conduct goes further: ignoring evidence, misrepresenting what the policy says, failing to explain a denial or refusing a reasonable settlement. Florida law provides remedies when an insurer fails to handle a claim in good faith. Those remedies come with formal requirements, so we evaluate early whether your insurer's conduct may cross that line.

## A Case Story: From $3,000 to the Policy Limit

In one Tampa uninsured motorist claim, which we wrote about in "Our Tampa Case Story: How We Negotiated an Uninsured Motorist Claim," the insurer opened with a $3,000 offer. Our team negotiated the claim up to the full $100,000 policy limit. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. You can find more stories like this on our blog.

## What to Do If Your Claim Is Denied or Stalled

1. Get the reason in writing. Ask the insurer to identify the specific policy language it relies on.
2. Request a certified copy of your policy, including the declarations page and any UM selection or rejection form.
3. Keep a claim log. Write down every call: the date, the adjuster's name and what was said. Confirm important conversations in writing.
4. Send copies and keep originals, along with a dated record of everything you provide.
5. Keep following your doctor's treatment plan. Gaps in care give adjusters a reason to argue you weren't really hurt.
6. Don't sign a release or accept a "final" payment until someone has reviewed it.

Deadlines matter here too. The deadline for a dispute with your own insurer can differ from the two-year deadline that applies to most negligence claims, and policies often include their own notice requirements. Don't wait to get advice.

## How We Can Help

We review your policy, your claim file and the insurer's offer or denial, and we tell you honestly where you stand. If we believe you would come out ahead handling it yourself, we'll say so and point you in the right direction. If you need us, we take accepted cases on a 100% contingency basis, so there is no fee unless we recover for you.

## Get a Second Opinion on Your Claim

An insurer's "no" is not always the final word. Contact us or call (813) 915-1110 for a free consultation, and bring your denial letter, your policy and any offers you have received.

### Insurer Saying No? Get a Second Opinion

Send us the denial letter or offer. We'll tell you honestly whether it's fair and what we would do next, at no cost.

  [Free Case Consultation](/contact/) [(813) 915-1110](tel:+18139151110)

## Standing Up to Insurers for Policyholders Across Tampa Bay

We help drivers and families in Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Spring Hill and surrounding communities who are fighting their own insurers over injury-related claims.

- Tampa
- Carrollwood
- Northdale
- Lutz
- Town ’n’ Country
- Brandon
- Temple Terrace
- New Tampa
- Wesley Chapel
- Land O’ Lakes
- Zephyrhills
- Odessa
- Spring Hill
- Brooksville
- Hudson
- New Port Richey
- Hillsborough County
- Pasco County
- Hernando County

## Frequently Asked Questions

  Can I take action against my own insurance company?

Yes. Your policy is a contract, and if your insurer fails to honor it, you can pursue the benefits you are owed. Florida law also provides remedies when an insurer fails to handle a claim in good faith, though those remedies come with formal requirements.

  Do I have to give my own insurer a recorded statement?

Your policy may require you to cooperate with your insurer's investigation, which is different from dealing with the other driver's insurer. Talk with us before giving any statement so you are prepared and your rights are protected.

  My PIP benefits were cut off after an insurance company exam. What can I do?

That decision can often be challenged. We compare the exam report with your treating doctors' records and push back when the cutoff is not supported. Act quickly, because unpaid bills and deadlines add up.

  My insurer says I rejected uninsured motorist coverage. Is that the end of it?

Not necessarily. In Florida, UM coverage can only be rejected or reduced in writing. We request the signed form, and if the insurer can't produce a valid one, you may have more coverage than you were told.

  Do you charge to review a denial letter or settlement offer?

No. The consultation is free. If we take your case, we work on a 100% contingency basis, so there is no fee unless we recover for you.

## Related practice areas

  [### Car Accidents What to do after a Florida car crash, how PIP and the no-fault rules work, and how a former insurance defense attorney protects your claim. Learn more](/practice-areas/car-accidents/)[### Personal Injury How Florida personal injury claims work, what you can recover, the deadlines that apply, and how our Tampa Bay attorneys handle your case from start to finish. Learn more](/practice-areas/personal-injury/)[### Motorcycle Accidents How Florida motorcycle claims work: left-turn crashes, bias against riders, the helmet law, the insurance gaps riders face, and how we build a strong case. Learn more](/practice-areas/motorcycle-accidents/)

## Practice Areas

- Personal Injury
- Car Accidents
- Truck Accidents
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Slip & Fall / Premises Liability
- Catastrophic Injuries
- Wrongful Death
- Boat Accidents
- Pedestrian Accidents
- Bicycle Accidents
- Golf Cart Accidents
- Insurance Disputes

Speak with our team

### Let’s talk about your next step.

- (813) 915-1110 · answered 24/7
- 1317 W Fletcher AvenueTampa, FL 33612
- 2224 Ashley Oaks Circle, Suite 102-EWesley Chapel, FL 33544
- 10485 Heley StreetSpring Hill, FL 34608
- No recovery, no fee

 [Free Case Consultation](/contact/)  [**Mike Hancock**Founding Attorney · Since 1996*Former insurance defense attorney*](/about/attorneys/mike-hancock/)

Here when you need us

## Let’s talk about what happened.

One conversation. Clear answers. A team that takes your case personally.

    [Call Hancock Today**(813) 915-1110**](tel:+18139151110)

Free consultation No recovery, no fee