The insurance company didn’t cause your car accident, but they are responsible for paying your accident damages. At first, it might seem like it will be easier to deal with the insurance company than the driver who caused your crash. After all, your compensation is coming from a company whose purpose is to provide compensation after accidents rather than an individual driver who has to take the money from their own bank account.
The reality is that insurers are for-profit companies, and they don’t make money if they pay the full value on every claim. That is why they do whatever they can to avoid giving car accident victims the damages they deserve.
How Insurance Companies Avoid Paying Car Accident Victims
Insurance companies train their adjusters to use a variety of tricks to try to minimize accident settlements. For example, an insurance adjuster may:
- Offer a fast settlement. A settlement that occurs before you know the full extent of your injuries may not fully compensate you for your injuries. Insurance companies know this and may offer to settle your case very quickly, and before you have time to understand the ongoing and potentially permanent impact of your car accident injuries.
- Ask for all of your medical records. Insurance companies will need some medical records to settle your case. However, they do not need your complete medical history. Often, when the insurance company requests your full medical record, the insurer is trying to look for a pre-existing condition so that it can argue that your current medical condition was not caused by the car accident.
- Ask purposefully misleading questions during a recorded statement. These statements may be taken out of context later and used against you.
- Deny liability. The insurance adjuster may try to convince you that their client was not at fault and, therefore, they should not pay you for your injuries.
- Delay processing your claim. You may keep getting verbal assurances that your claim will be processed soon. However, you have not seen any progress. Delay tactics are a common way insurers get claimants to settle for less than what they are owed, or even to give up on the claim altogether.
- Urge you to stop getting medical treatment. The insurance adjuster may tell you that the medical treatment isn’t doing you any good and isn’t worth the time, effort, and discomfort. However, he is not your medical provider. Do not stop getting medical treatment until a trusted medical professional tells you that it is time to stop treatment. If you stop too soon, you could jeopardize both your physical and legal recoveries.
- Provide you with incorrect information about the law. If you trust the information provided by the insurance company, you may rely on an incorrect interpretation of the law.
- Try to be your friend. The insurance adjuster may appear empathetic to your situation and genuinely interested in your life and recovery. However, he is likely just trying to gain your trust so that you will be more likely to agree to a proposed settlement.
- Urge you not to hire an attorney. The insurance company doesn’t want you to learn about your rights or to have an experienced lawyer fighting for your fair compensation.
Insurance adjusters are skilled at what they do, and some accident victims don’t realize what has happened until it is too late.
Make the Insurance Company Treat You Fairly After a Car Crash
You are under enough stress after a car accident. You need to manage your medical treatment, pay your bills, and take care of your regular obligations. You don’t have the time or energy to sort through the insurance company’s tricks to make sure that you are treated fairly, and you shouldn’t have this added responsibility and stress.
Instead, we encourage you to contact the Fletcher Law Office today. We have handled thousands of personal injury cases, and we know just what to expect from insurance companies. Our Kansas City car accident lawyers will craft a careful legal strategy to resolve your case quickly and for the maximum compensation possible. To learn more about how we can help you make sure that your rights and potential recovery are protected, please contact us today for a free initial case evaluation.
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