Is an insurance company legally required to respond to an injury demand letter?

An injury demand letter is a letter you send to an insurance company who is representing a person who was at fault for causing you some type of injury. It is usually sent as part of settlement negotiations. If the insurance company agrees to your demands or comes up with a counter offer that you can live with, you can then settle the case outside of court instead of having a jury decide fault and damages.

As a general matter, this means your demand letter is just a negotiating tactic. In most cases, the insurance company has no legal requirement to reply to this demand letter at all. Most do, because they want to settle outside of court, but there isn't generally a rule that says they have to respond. Of course, if you are making a claim with your own insurance company, your insurance company does have to respond (either with acceptance or denial and a reason for that denial). However a demand letter is different than a claim and no special legal protections are in place to make an insurance company negotiate with you.

If an insurer doesn't respond to a demand letter, you may be left with no other option for recovering your damages than to file suit. If you find yourself negotiating with an insurer, it is a good idea to have a lawyer to help. The insurance company is more likely to respond and take you seriously when a lawyer sends a letter, since they'll know you're serious about protecting your rights.