How to Deal With Insurance Companies During the Personal Injury Claims Process
When you’ve been injured in an accident, you’ll probably be contacted by the at-fault party’s insurance company. These adjusters are trained to protect the company’s best interests by paying you the minimum compensation that they can get away with, rather than giving you compensation for your injuries you actually deserve. So what’s the best way to navigate speaking with insurance adjusters? Keep reading to learn how you should deal with insurance companies during the personal injury claims process.
Motivation of the Insurance Company
The most important thing you should know about insurance companies is they are concerned about their bottom line. These companies only care about being profitable, so they will employ a variety of tactics to reduce the amount of payouts or sometimes refuse payouts altogether.
While insurance companies want to avoid paying injured people money, they also want to avoid personal injury lawsuits. These cases can be expensive and time consuming, and damages that are awarded can be pretty high if a jury is sympathetic towards the plaintiff. So the job of the insurance adjuster, the representative that usually reaches out to injured parties, is to offer a compensation amount that is in the best interest of the company, in order to get the injured party to resolve the case for less than it is actually worth.
Tactics Insurance Adjusters Use
There are quite a few ways insurance companies will try to justify their offer or get you to drop the case entirely. Here are some of the most common tricks insurance companies will use during the personal injury claims process:
Victim Blaming
While this may seem unbelievable, insurance adjusters may try to blame you for the accident. This is one way these companies try to avoid liability of any kind, because you won’t be able to collect compensation for an accident the other party didn’t cause.
Deny Claims Due to Delay in Medical Care
Sometimes after being in an accident, adrenaline and shock will cause injured people to think they’re actually fine. Even if you don’t think you have anything wrong with you, you should be examined immediately. Certain injuries may present weeks or months after an accident, and one way insurance adjusters will try to deny your claim is to say that these injuries weren’t caused by the accident because you waited to receive medical care. It is important that you receive medical care as soon as possible and any symptoms are documented by your doctor.
Drag Out a Case
Another tactic insurance adjusters will use in the personal injury claims process is to make the case as long as possible. These companies know you are in need of money, and they will slow the process down so you will accept an offer when they finally provide you with one. Also, they could delay the process to create a statute of limitations defense. If you do not pursue a claim within the statute of limitations, you lose rights to pursue a legal claim.
Requiring Statements
A common tactic insurance adjusters will use is claiming that they require a written or recorded statement in order to process your claim. This is used to deny or undervalue your compensation. It is against your best interests to provide a company with these statements, and you should never agree to give them one.
Best Way to Deal With Insurance Companies
The best way you can deal with insurance companies during the personal injury claims process is to hire an attorney. Personal injury lawyers work in this field day in and day out, and they know all of the strategies adjusters will try to undervalue damages. With the help of an experienced attorney, you will be able to get compensation you deserve.
Now you know more about insurance companies and how they will try to strategize against you during the personal injury claims process. Have you been contacted by an adjuster? Speak with one of our personal injury lawyers today to discuss next steps.
