While insurance adjusters are not necessarily trained to lie, there are specific tactics that they can fall back on when talking to customers. The auto insurance companies will do anything to get out of paying you, including telling you things that aren’t true or making promises that they don’t intend to keep. Understanding their tactics will help you make sure they pay you when you deserve it. Here are some dirty tricks and tactics car insurance companies use to keep you from getting justice.
- Lowball Settlement
Lowballing is one of the most common car insurance company tactics. It is what they do to try and save money. Sometimes the lowball settlement will be thousands of dollars lower than the cost of medical bills and property damage repairs. For instance, you have been hit by a drunk driver and suffered injuries requiring $50,000 in medical treatments. The insurance company knows they are at fault, so they offer you a settlement of $20,000, but it is only half of what you are owed.
A lowball settlement offer can take many forms, but there’s only one reason why your insurance company would make them. Lowball offers are made by insurance companies that know it is likely they are liable for your damages. They know you will accept the offer because it’s better than fighting to get a fair settlement in court. But what the insurance company also knows is that once you accepted the offer, the claim will be closed, and you won’t have any good options left.
Don’t let auto insurance adjusters rush you into accepting an offer. Let your attorney review it first.
2. Demand recorded statements
An insurer might tell you that the law requires you to give a recorded statement at the scene of an accident. This is flatly untrue. To be clear, this is a tactic used by adjusters and not required by the law. However, this statement might often sound valid because there are laws that require certain things to be done right after an accident, like exchanging information.
They might try to get statements from you that they can use against you to increase the likelihood of your liability and decrease the amount of money they have to payout. They will probably diplomatically ask you a series of questions to get you to say something incriminating. Since they are interested in convincing a jury of your guilt, they will likely resort to exaggerating and misinterpreting the facts.
3. Delay the Payout
In the event of an accident, the insurance company has 15 days to complete proof of its liability. If the client is injured or sick, they have an extension of 40 days to finish fulfilling their side of the agreement. The insurance company has 30 days to accept or deny the claim from the date stated in the contract.
It’s all part of a delay-and-avoid strategy that insurance companies use when you submit a claim. However, you have to know this trick if you don’t want to get rooked out of your rightful compensation.
Do not let your claim be delayed. Instead of signing a contract with the insurance company that grants it control over your spouse’s death claim, side with a personal injury lawyer experienced in a wrongful death claims review.
4. Arguing against your claim
They will actually argue that the injuries or illnesses from the accident didn’t happen, or even if it did happen, your injuries were not as severe as described. In a dispute with an insurance company, if you only show that you’ve sought treatment for your injuries, they can say that if you were hurt enough to need treatment, you would have sought more. If you seek a lot of therapy, they can turn around and deny that it was ever injured in the first place. The best way to avoid having the insurance company use your medical records against you is to receive all necessary medical treatment.
5. Discriminate based on a credit score
Several insurance companies have been developing models based on credit scores to determine a consumer’s risk of making a claim. While many believe that credit history is not a direct indicator of the likelihood or severity of injuries sustained in an accident, it is still being used as a factor to determine premiums. If your insurance company denies you coverage or increases your premiums because of your credit history, benefit from a proven track record of success by calling Rein Goodwin law firm.
6. Delaying until Death
You expect your insurance company to honor its commitments when you suffer an injury or, worse, have a family member who is seriously injured in an accident—delaying until death means jumping through numerous hoops – through doctor appointments, for example, then filing paperwork — all in an effort to buy more time until the policyholder dies. This is unfortunate but does happen, and this is where we can help.
How do attorneys help against insurance companies?
Insurance companies are known for being stingy and vindictive toward the unfortunate customers who run into financial trouble due to an occasional slip or catastrophe. The law provides a remedy if you have been tricked into buying defective or overpriced insurance. Still, an expert injury attorney takes a lot of work to convince the insurance company that your claim is valid. With insurance attorney Rein Goodwin by your side, you’ll have no problem getting what you came for – your money back.
Fatal car accidents are daily news, though the cause-effect might not be so evident. When a victim dies in an accident caused by someone else, the deceased’s family members may want to call an experienced personal injury attorney. Whether you have suffered a car accident, been injured due to someone else’s negligence, or are dealing with a health crisis, Reid Goodwin Law Firm can help. We have established a track record of recovering millions for our clients throughout the years.
