20 Illusions of Auto Insurance
Episode 14
Deadlines Decide Outcomes
A serious crash can trigger several clocks at once. Legal deadlines,
policy duties, disclosure periods, benefit timing, evidence-preservation
windows, billing issues and court dates do not necessarily run on one
schedule.
The Assumption
“There is one obvious deadline, and someone will warn me before it expires.”
Treatment, repairs, work disruption and family responsibilities can dominate
attention after a serious crash. It is easy to assume that legal and
insurance deadlines can wait until things settle down.
clock when several independent deadlines or preservation windows may
already be running.
Different Clocks
One crash can create several timing systems
Statutes of limitation
Civil claims can have filing deadlines that depend on the claim, parties, jurisdiction and facts.
Policy notice duties
Policies may require notice, cooperation, proof, submissions or other acts on their own timetable.
Disclosure deadlines
Written policy-disclosure procedures can contain their own response periods and routing requirements.
Benefit timing
MedPay and other benefits may involve submission, processing, payment and exhaustion dates.
UM/UIM timing
Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims have separate statutory, policy and procedural timing questions.
Evidence preservation
Video, telematics, surveillance and physical evidence can disappear long before a lawsuit deadline.
A person may still have one deadline open while another right,
evidence source, benefit or procedural option has already been
weakened or lost.
Find the Trigger
A deadline is useful only when you know what starts it
Crash date
An obvious anchor, but not every deadline begins on the collision date.
Date of notice
Some policy or procedural duties depend on when notice was given or received.
Date of receipt
A written request may trigger a response period when properly delivered and received.
Date of decision
Some review or response periods depend on when a formal position was communicated.
Evidence-risk date
Preservation may need to begin before a formal claim deadline becomes urgent.
Litigation date
Filing a case creates a new procedural calendar in addition to underlying claim deadlines.
Master Calendar
Every important deadline should answer four questions
Record the trigger date and the fact or document supporting it.
Identify the statute, policy, rule, order, request or contract term creating the deadline.
State the filing, notice, request, payment, production, preservation or other required act.
Preserve filing receipts, delivery confirmation, email records or other proof.
Practical Response
Create one deadline-control system for the entire claim
Consider legal, insurance, benefit, disclosure, evidence, billing and court dates separately.
Evidence can disappear long before a formal legal deadline expires.
Do not make the expiration date the first day the issue receives attention.
Keep the authority supporting every calendar entry.
Show who is responsible, whether the task is open or complete, and when it will next be reviewed.
Important timing questions should be verified rather than assumed.
Evidence & Authority
Never calendar a major deadline without recording its source
C.R.S. § 13-80-101
Colorado’s limitations framework includes specified motor-vehicle bodily-injury and property-damage actions.
C.R.S. § 13-80-107.5
Colorado provides separate timing rules for uninsured and underinsured motorist claims.
C.R.S. § 10-3-1117
Colorado’s automobile liability disclosure statute contains a 30-calendar-day response framework for qualifying requests.
C.R.S. § 10-4-642
Colorado’s prompt-payment provisions address direct medical-payment benefits and claim processing.
C.R.S. § 10-4-635
Colorado’s medical-payments statute provides additional MedPay requirements.
Statute · Policy · Rule · Order · Request
A calendar date without its source is difficult to audit later.
Related VictimsGuide Research
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