Why Is My Car Accident Settlement Taking So Long?

Most car accident settlements stall for one of five reasons: you are still treating, records or bills are missing, fault is disputed, a lien has to be resolved, or the adjuster is slow. Waiting does not pause your deadline to sue, which is generally two years in California (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1) and in Texas, and three years in Washington.

Why does a car accident settlement take so long?

A settlement is a one-time payment. Once you sign the release, the claim is closed, even if you later need surgery. That is why a careful claim does not go out for payment until the full cost of the injury is known. Each reason below adds time, and several usually apply at once.

• You are still treating. Until your doctors can say what care you still need, nobody can price the claim. Settling while treatment is open means guessing.
• Records and bills are missing. The insurer pays on documents. One provider that takes two months to send a chart holds up the whole demand.
• Fault is disputed. If the other driver tells a different story, the adjuster investigates before making an offer.
• Someone has to be repaid. Medicare, a health plan or a hospital may have a right to part of the money.
• The claim is worth more than the policy. Small policies create their own delays, explained below.

How long does the insurance company have to respond?

It depends on the state and on whose insurance company it is.

California. After it receives proof of claim, an insurer generally must accept or deny the claim within 40 calendar days. If it needs more time, it must say so in writing and send a new written update every 30 calendar days. Once it accepts a claim and has the signed release when one is needed, it generally must pay within 30 calendar days. These rules are in title 10, section 2695.7 of the California Code of Regulations.

Texas. The prompt payment deadlines in chapter 542 of the Insurance Code cover claims you make on your own policy: 15 days to acknowledge the claim, 15 business days to accept or reject it after receiving everything it asked for, and five business days to pay after agreeing to. The Texas Department of Insurance explains that these deadlines do not apply when the other driver’s company is paying, although that company must still act in good faith and try to settle quickly and fairly.

Washington. An insurer must acknowledge a claim within 10 business days (WAC 284-30-360) and complete its investigation within 30 calendar days, unless the investigation cannot reasonably be finished in that time (WAC 284-30-370). Since October 18, 2026, an insurer that needs longer must explain why in writing and send an update every 30 days. Failing to try in good faith to settle promptly when liability is reasonably clear is listed as an unfair practice in WAC 284-30-330.

These rules set a pace for answering. They do not force the insurer to offer the amount you asked for.

Does waiting stop my deadline to sue?

No. Talking with an adjuster generally does not extend the time to file a lawsuit. Do not count on anyone else to track the date for you.

Claims against a government agency move on a shorter clock. In California you typically must send a written claim to the agency within six months, and the agency has 45 days to answer, according to the California Courts. In Washington, a claim against a local government must be presented first, and you cannot file suit until 60 calendar days have passed (RCW 4.96.020). If a city bus or a police car was involved, check these dates first.

Why do liens and Medicare slow down the check?

Reaching an agreement and receiving the money are two different steps. Before your share is paid, the people who paid for your care may have to be repaid from the settlement.

Medicare is the clearest case. When Medicare pays accident bills that an insurer should have paid, those payments are conditional, and Medicare is entitled to be repaid when you receive a settlement, as CMS explains. Medicare generally issues its final repayment demand after it is told about the settlement, as its recovery process describes, which adds time.

Hospitals and doctors can also hold a lien. In Washington, for example, RCW 60.44.010 gives providers a lien on the injury claim and limits those liens to 25 percent of the settlement. Each lien has to be confirmed, and often negotiated down, before the final numbers are known.

What if the other driver has a small policy?

The at-fault driver’s insurer generally will not pay more than the policy limit, no matter how serious the injury is. The legal minimums are low:

• California: $30,000 per person, $60,000 per crash and $15,000 for property damage, per the California DMV.
• Texas: $30,000, $60,000 and $25,000, per the Texas Department of Insurance.
• Washington: $25,000, $50,000 and $10,000 under RCW 46.29.090.

When the bills exceed the limit, the work shifts to confirming the limit in writing, looking for other coverage such as your own underinsured motorist policy, and deciding how a fixed amount is divided among everyone who was hurt. That takes longer than a routine claim.

What to do now

1. Ask in writing where the claim stands and what is still missing. Keep the date of every letter and call.
2. Finish your treatment and keep every appointment. Gaps in care give the adjuster a reason to wait or to pay less.
3. Send what is requested once, complete, and keep a copy.
4. Write down your deadline to sue from the table above and count back three months. If there is no fair offer by then, the claim needs a lawsuit filed, and that takes preparation.
5. If the company stops answering, you can complain to the regulator: the California Department of Insurance at 1-800-927-4357, the Texas Department of Insurance at 800-252-3439, or the Washington Insurance Commissioner.
6. Be careful with a fast offer made before you finish treatment. A release ends the claim.

Talk to someone about your claim

If your claim has been sitting for months and nobody will tell you why, call Beverly Law at (310) 552-6959. We handle car accident cases in California, Texas and Washington. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. You owe no fees or costs unless we win.

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Car Accident Settlements · Cash advance on a lawsuit · Law Blog

Important: This page is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Beverly Law. Laws change and every case is different; talk to a lawyer about your own situation. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. You owe no fees or costs unless we win. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: 2026-11-12.