If you've been hurt at work or in an accident in California, you already have enough to deal with. Pain. Lost wages. Doctors you've never met. The last thing you need is an insurance company dragging its feet while your bills pile up.
The truth is, delay is a strategy. Insurance adjusters work for companies whose profit depends on paying out as little as possible, as late as possible. The longer they wait, the more likely you are to accept a lowball offer — or miss a deadline that ends your right to collect entirely.
Here are 9 documented tactics insurers use to delay injury claims in California — and what you can do at every step.
Quick answer — the 9 delay tactics:
- Sending repeated requests for documents you already provided
- Going silent or returning calls sporadically
- Reassigning your file to a new adjuster with no warning
- Disputing liability on a clear-cut case
- Ordering an "independent" medical exam to push out the timeline
- Combing your medical records for pre-existing conditions or gaps
- Making a lowball offer and then waiting
- Running out the clock toward your filing deadline
- Citing vague "processing backlogs" with no real end date
1. Endless Requests for Documents You Already Sent
Repetitive document requests, file reassignments, and vague backlog explanations are recognized delay tactics that can violate California's unfair claims settlement practices law.
The insurer asks for your medical records. You send them. Two weeks later, they ask for the same records again — this time in a different format, or from a slightly different date range, or routed to a different adjuster. Repeat.
This is not disorganization. It is attrition. Every redundant request extends the clock, tests your patience, and burns your time.
Under California Insurance Code §790.03(h), failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards for the prompt investigation of claims is an unfair claims settlement practice. The California Department of Insurance (CDI) enforces these standards and can take action against carriers who pattern this behavior across multiple claimants.
What to do: Every time you send documents, note the date, the method, and the name of the person who requested them. Keep a log. That log becomes evidence of bad-faith conduct if you eventually need to escalate.
2. Slow, Sporadic Communication and Unreturned Calls
California law requires insurers to acknowledge your claim within 15 days and accept or deny it within 40 days of receiving proof of loss.
You call your adjuster on Monday. She's "out of office." You call Wednesday — voicemail. Friday — she returns the call but says she needs "a little more time." There is no legal reason for this delay, and it is not accidental.
California Code of Regulations Title 10, §2695.7 sets hard deadlines for insurance claim handling. Insurers must acknowledge receipt of a claim within 15 calendar days. Once they have all the proof of loss they need, they must accept or deny the claim within 40 calendar days. For workers' comp claims specifically, Cal. Lab. Code §5402 creates a presumption that a claim is compensable if the insurer fails to deny it within 90 days of the claim form being filed.
What to do: Put every communication in writing. Follow up every phone call with an email summarizing what was said. "Per our call on July 14, you confirmed you are waiting for the attending physician's report and will respond by July 28." That kind of paper trail matters in a bad-faith dispute.
3. Repeatedly Reassigning Your File to New Adjusters
File reassignment is one of the most effective delay tactics because it looks bureaucratic rather than intentional. A new adjuster inherits your case and — conveniently — needs time to "get up to speed." Weeks pass. Sometimes this happens two or three times in the life of one claim.
There is no California statute that prevents an insurer from reassigning your file. But every reassignment resets the informal negotiation. The new adjuster starts skeptical, asks questions you've already answered, and may request documents you've already provided.
Under California's fair claims regulations, a carrier must provide you written notice when a claim is reassigned and identify who is now handling your case. If you are not getting that notice, that is a violation worth documenting.
What to do: Ask in writing for the name, direct phone number, and supervisor of every adjuster assigned to your file. When a new adjuster is assigned, send a brief summary email of all prior communications, agreements, and requests — do not let institutional memory disappear.
4. Disputing Clear Liability to Stall the Process
You slipped on a wet floor that had no warning sign. A forklift hit you in a warehouse aisle. A company vehicle rear-ended you at a light. The facts are clear. The insurer disputes liability anyway.
This is a calculated move, not a genuine legal dispute. By opening a liability contest, the carrier creates a procedural reason to pause payment while the "investigation" continues. That investigation can stretch for months with no obligation to resolve quickly.
Under Cal. Insurance Code §790.03(h)(5), failing to affirm or deny coverage within a reasonable time after liability becomes apparent is an unfair practice. "Reasonable" has been interpreted by California courts to mean weeks, not months, when the underlying facts are not genuinely disputed.
What to do: Gather your own evidence immediately: photos, witness names and contact info, surveillance footage requests, police or incident reports. The stronger your liability evidence, the harder it is for a carrier to sustain a bad-faith dispute.
5. Demanding an Independent Medical Exam to Buy Time
An IME ordered by the insurer is paid for by the insurance company, and the examining doctor has a financial relationship with the carrier — not with you.
An IME — independent medical examination — is not independent in the way you might think. The doctor who examines you at the insurer's request is hired and paid by the insurer. Research consistently shows that IME doctors find claimants less injured, or not injured at all, at rates that serve the carrier's financial interest.
In a workers' comp claim, if you disagree with the treating physician's opinion, you have the right to see a QME (qualified medical evaluator) — a doctor from a state-assigned panel under Cal. Lab. Code §4062.2. The QME process was designed to create more balance than the insurer-controlled IME model. But even the QME process takes time — typically 30-90 days to schedule — which insurers may exploit as a delay window.
In personal injury cases outside the workers' comp system, the insurer has no automatic right to an IME before it makes a settlement offer. Demanding one before any offer is made is a delay tactic.
What to do: Before attending any IME, consult an attorney. You have rights regarding who examines you and how the examination is conducted. Attending an IME without counsel puts you at a serious disadvantage.
6. Nitpicking Your Medical Records for Reasons to Question Care
You had knee surgery five years ago. You hurt your knee at work last month. The adjuster is now requesting every medical record you have for the past decade, claiming they need to determine what is "pre-existing" versus what is new.
This is a stall with a dual purpose: it delays the claim while simultaneously building a file the insurer can use to argue your current injury was not caused by your job or accident. This tactic is especially common in soft tissue injuries, back injuries, and any condition that exists on a spectrum.
Under Cal. Lab. Code §4663, a work injury that aggravates a pre-existing condition is still compensable — the employer and insurer are responsible for the portion of your permanent disability directly caused or aggravated by work. An insurer who denies the claim entirely based on a pre-existing condition, rather than apportioning properly, may be acting in bad faith.
What to do: Your treating physician's report should clearly document causation — which conditions existed before and which are new or aggravated by the incident. A well-documented medical record is your best protection against this tactic.
7. Sitting on a Lowball Offer, Hoping You Get Desperate
The insurer finally makes an offer. It is less than half what your medical bills already total. Your adjuster says that's "the best we can do" and goes quiet. Weeks pass. You have no income. The offer sits on the table.
This is deliberate. Insurers know that financial pressure is real. When you are living on temporary disability payments — or no income at all — the pressure to accept something, even something inadequate, builds every week.
In a California workers' comp case, temporary total disability (TTD) benefits replace two-thirds of your pre-injury wages up to a state-set maximum under Cal. Lab. Code §4653. That rate is deliberately set below full wages, which is exactly the financial pressure the insurer is waiting on.
What to do: Never accept a first offer without consulting an attorney. Once you sign a Compromise and Release — the settlement document in California workers' comp — you generally cannot reopen the claim for more money. The WCAB (Workers' Compensation Appeals Board) does not approve settlements it finds grossly inadequate, but the burden is on you and your attorney to flag the problem before you sign.
8. Waiting You Out as the Filing Deadline Approaches
In California personal injury cases, the statute of limitations is generally two years — an insurer that stalls long enough can leave you legally unable to collect.
For workers' compensation claims, California law gives you one year from the date of injury to file under Cal. Lab. Code §5405, and that clock does not stop because the insurer is slow.
This tactic is the most dangerous one on this list. If an insurer strings out negotiations until your right to file a lawsuit or a claim has legally expired, you lose — regardless of how valid your claim was.
In California personal injury cases, Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §335.1 gives you two years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit. For workers' compensation claims, Cal. Lab. Code §5405 gives you one year from the date of injury. There is also a 30-day window to report the injury to your employer under Cal. Lab. Code §5400 — miss it and you risk losing your right to file entirely.
Insurers know these deadlines better than almost anyone. An adjuster who stays in communication — just barely — while the deadline approaches is not being helpful. They are managing the clock.
What to do: Know your deadlines before you start negotiating. If a deadline is within 60 days and your claim is still unresolved, file a protective lawsuit or a formal workers' comp claim with the DWC (Division of Workers' Compensation) immediately. You can continue negotiating after filing; you cannot file after the deadline.
9. Blaming Processing Backlogs With No Real Timeline
"We're experiencing higher than normal volume." "Your file is in the queue." "Our systems were recently updated." "I'll have an update for you within the next few weeks."
None of these statements carry legal weight. None of them are a reason, under California law, for an insurer to miss the claim-handling deadlines described above. California Code of Regulations Title 10, §2695.7(g) requires that when an insurer cannot complete its investigation within the time required, it must notify the claimant of the reason for the delay and provide a specific date by which it expects to complete its review. "We're backed up" is not a specific date.
This tactic works because it sounds reasonable. Most claimants accept it and wait. The insurer does not need to do anything illegal — it just needs you to wait voluntarily.
What to do: If you receive a backlog explanation, respond in writing requesting the specific regulatory basis for the extension and the exact date by which the insurer will complete its decision. That request puts the adjuster on notice that you know the rules — and often accelerates the process significantly.
What to Do When Your Claim Is Being Delayed
If you recognize any of these tactics in your own claim, you are not powerless. Here is what matters most:
1. Document everything. Every unanswered call, every repeated document request, every adjuster change, every vague extension explanation. Timestamps matter. Dates matter. Names matter.
2. Know your deadlines. The 30-day employer notice window, the one-year workers' comp filing deadline, the two-year personal injury statute of limitations — these do not pause while an insurer delays. Calendar them the day you are injured.
3. Do not accept the first offer. A first offer from an insurer in a soft tissue case, a back injury case, or a surgical case is almost never the real number. Signing a Compromise and Release in California workers' comp is final. Get it reviewed by an attorney first.
4. Consider filing a bad-faith complaint. If an insurer has violated California's fair claims settlement regulations, you can file a complaint with the California Department of Insurance. A documented bad-faith pattern can also be the basis of a separate civil action.
5. Talk to an attorney before the deadline. Attorneys who handle workers' comp and personal injury claims in California work on contingency — no fee unless we win. The consultation costs nothing. The delay could cost everything.
If your injury claim in California is stalled, every day matters. Call (818) 794-9947 for a free consultation with our team at Nordanyan Law. We've recovered over $150,000,000 for injured workers and accident victims across Southern California. No fee unless we win.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my insurance company delaying my claim?
Insurance companies delay claims because delay is financially beneficial to them. The longer a claim stays open, the more likely a claimant is to accept a lower settlement, miss a filing deadline, or simply give up. California law sets specific claim-handling deadlines — a 15-day acknowledgment window and a 40-day acceptance-or-denial deadline after receiving proof of loss under California Code of Regulations Title 10, §2695.7 — but carriers routinely test how far they can push those limits before a claimant pushes back.
Can an insurance company drag out a claim on purpose?
Yes. Delay is a documented industry tactic. Repeated document requests, file reassignments, vague backlog explanations, and sitting on a lowball offer are all deliberate strategies to extend the claim timeline. Under California Insurance Code §790.03(h), certain delay practices constitute unfair claims settlement conduct, and the California Department of Insurance can act against carriers who engage in them systematically. Individual claimants can also file bad-faith complaints and, in some cases, pursue separate civil actions.
What are insurance delay tactics?
Common insurance delay tactics in California include: sending repeated requests for documents already provided; going silent or returning calls slowly; reassigning the file to a new adjuster; disputing clear liability; ordering an independent medical examination (IME) to push out the timeline; combing medical records for pre-existing conditions; making a lowball offer and waiting; stalling toward the statute of limitations deadline; and citing processing backlogs with no specific resolution date.
What can I do if my claim is being delayed?
First, document every delay — dates, adjuster names, unanswered calls, and repeated requests. Second, know your filing deadlines (one year for workers' comp under Cal. Lab. Code §5405; two years for personal injury under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §335.1) and do not let negotiations push you past them. Third, respond to backlog explanations in writing, requesting the specific regulatory basis and an exact completion date. Fourth, consult a workers' comp or personal injury attorney before accepting any offer — consultations are free and attorneys work on contingency, so there is no upfront cost.
What is the claims handling deadline in California?
Under California Code of Regulations Title 10, §2695.7, insurers must acknowledge receipt of a claim within 15 calendar days and either accept or deny it within 40 calendar days after receiving proof of loss. For workers' comp claims specifically, if the insurer fails to deny a claim within 90 days of the filing date, the injury is presumed compensable under Cal. Lab. Code §5402.
What is an IME and why do insurers use it to delay claims?
An IME (independent medical examination) is a medical examination ordered by the insurer and paid for by the insurance company. Despite the word "independent," the examining doctor is selected and compensated by the carrier. Insurers use IMEs to add weeks or months to the claim timeline while also building a medical opinion that may contradict your treating physician's findings. In workers' comp cases, a more balanced alternative is a QME (qualified medical evaluator) from a state-assigned panel under Cal. Lab. Code §4062.2.
Can I sue my insurance company for delaying my claim in California?
California law allows a bad-faith lawsuit against an insurer that unreasonably delays or denies a claim. If an insurer's conduct violates California Insurance Code §790.03(h) and causes you harm, you may be able to recover not just the underlying claim value but additional damages. Consult an attorney to evaluate whether your specific facts support a bad-faith claim.
What happens if I miss the workers' comp filing deadline?
If you miss the one-year filing deadline under Cal. Lab. Code §5405, your workers' comp claim is generally time-barred — you lose the right to file regardless of how valid your underlying injury was. Some narrow exceptions exist, such as for late-discovered occupational diseases, but these are rare. Do not let an insurer's delay push you past this deadline. File your claim with the DWC before the deadline, even if negotiations are ongoing.
Reviewed by Minas Nordanyan, CA Bar #296806. Last reviewed July 2026. This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance specific to your situation, call (818) 794-9947 for a free consultation.