As you try to navigate your finances in the aftermath of your car accident, you’re likely to have a lot of interactions with insurance companies, including your own. Although representatives from these companies might seem friendly and helpful, you shouldn’t automatically assume that they’re looking out for your best interests. In fact, here are some of the biggest reasons why you shouldn’t trust an insurance company that is trying to settle your claim:
- Insurance companies are profit-driven: At the end of the day, insurance companies want to make as much money as possible. The insurance company that you’re dealing with is probably going to try to deny your claim, lowball your settlement or find some other way to minimize its losses.
- Adjusters are looking to twist your words: Even though an insurance adjuster might seem friendly and looking out for your best interests, the truth of the matter is that they’re looking for anything that you say that they can use against you. They might take your words out of context and use them against you to try to reduce their amount of liability and shift the fault onto you.
- Insurance companies may delay your claim: Even if your claim is legitimate and should be paid out relatively fast, an insurance company may unreasonably delay it in hopes of you giving up or that you’ll something that jeopardizes your claim.
- Insurance legal teams are slick: Insurance companies are often represented by aggressive legal teams. These legal teams are also highly experienced. As a result, they know how to implement legal strategies that position the insurance company for success. This includes pushing you to take a low settlement offer during negotiations. These attorneys might claim that they can’t offer more than a certain amount or that a particular offer is a final offer.
- Insurance companies are looking for errors in your claim: In order to try to deny a claim or reduce the claim payout, an insurance company is going to try to spot any issues that it can find with your claim. This might include arguing that you’ve failed to seek out appropriate medical treatment or that you failed to timely report your accident.
- Your injuries might be minimized: The insurance company that you’re dealing with is also likely to minimize the extent and severity of your injuries so that they can pay out less than you’re owed. They might also try to argue that your injuries were caused or exacerbated by events other than your car accident. They might even hire a private investigator to follow you around to see if your injuries are as bad as you claim them to be. So, be prepared to counter these arguments.
There can be a whole host of issues when it comes to dealing with an insurance company. These are just some of the biggest issues that you need to be aware of.
But if you want to protect your interests following a car accident, then you need to know your rights and the legal strategies that best position you for success. An attorney who has a proven track record of success in personal injury cases may be able to help you craft the legal strategy that you need to beat the insurance company and recover the compensation that you’re owed. Hopefully then you can focus on moving past your car accident and focusing on your recovery and reclaiming your life.