State laws and insurance companies differ. There are some states that have specific laws or statutes with regards to filing claims while others may allow your insurance policy and insurers guidelines dictate how long you have.

It is a state or insurance company thing though not a federal law. Most insurance contracts contain provisions stating how long you have to file a claim or suit against the company. This is known as a Contractual statute of limitations. If you do not file a claim or a lawsuit within this time period, you may lose all rights to recover for your claim.

For example, your policy may state that you have one year from the date the claim arose (the date the injury or accident occurred), or from the date the claim was filed, or from the date the claim was denied, to file suit.

If no time period is mentioned in the policy, you will need to research your state's laws concerning any applicable legal statutes of limitations.

It appears that you may reside in Massachusetts. If this is the case you can contact MA Division of Insurance to find out if there is state law regulating the time frame in which you must file an auto insurance claim.

The DOI's website does not mention how soon you must place a claim but does note that there are no specific time limits for the settlement of claims. Insurance companies in MA are required by law to pay all claims in a prompt and reasonable amount of time. Claims that require special or extended investigation may take longer to resolve but should still try to resolve the claim within a reasonable amount of time.