A car accident can cause you various problems like personal injury, medical bills, and lost wages. To help cover some of these bills, you’ll normally seek help from your insurance company. However, most car insurance companies won’t provide fair compensation. To avoid this, you should know the common tricks they use and how to fight for your claims.
Here are some tricks and tactics insurance companies use to devalue your claims:
- Talking you out of contacting a lawyer
Oftentimes, insurance adjusters try to talk a victim out of getting in touch with a car crash attorney. They will claim that hiring a lawyer will be too expensive, and you’ll get more money if you don’t get a lawyer involved. They will also tell you that it will take longer for you to get your settlement funds because lawyers often slow down the speed of the process.
Insurance adjusters always try to minimize the impact of your claim. It’s recommended that you always seek help from a car accident lawyer as it’s common for victims to be compelled to accept lowball settlement offers. Your lawyer will protect you and ensure you get a fair settlement amount.
They fully understand the laws regarding car accident claims and know how to best negotiate with the insurance company. They will also take the time to investigate all factors that contribute to a serious car accident.
- Delaying your settlements
It’s a common practice of some car insurance companies to prolong the settlement process. It’s important that you know it’s what they usually do so you don’t question the validity of your claim. Their intent is to make you frustrated until you decide to settle for less than what you are entitled to.
They do this practice because the money that insurance companies receive goes into investments accounts and generates interest. They delay the payout to the policyholder to secure more interest revenue as possible. Having an experienced lawyer will assist you in cases like this. They will help you take the insurance company to court if they continue violating your rights.
- Putting surveillance on you
Your insurance adjuster can legally put surveillance outside your home and use that as evidence against you in court. For example, if a doctor orders you to avoid certain activities due to your injury, your insurance adjuster can discredit you if they catch you doing any of those activities, and say that you don’t seem injured enough.
There’s also a good chance that they are monitoring your social media posts and any public activity if you’re in the middle of an insurance claim. Social media investigation is becoming a popular form of surveillance because it’s a quicker and cheaper way to gain insight into a claimant’s daily activities.
- Giving you false deadlines
Aside from delaying settlement offers, car insurance companies can also give you false deadlines in accepting or denying a settlement offer. Avoid falling into this kind of tactic by staying calm and not rushing into deciding things. Don’t agree to any offer until you know how much your expenses will be.
- Telling you that you won’t get any compensation unless you accept an offer
Insurance companies know that most citizens don’t know all their rights, especially in car accident claims. They will take advantage of this by telling you that you have two options – accept their offer or receive nothing at all. This will compel insurance holders to just accept their low settlement offers.
You can always take them to court to get the actual compensation that you deserve. You can also reject their first offer which is a common thing to do. This will lead to further negotiations with them, and continuing to counter-offer can lead you to get closer to the compensation that you need.
- Insisting that you should use an in-network mechanic and doctor
One thing some insurance companies do to reduce their payouts is telling you that you should only go to an in-network doctor. However, this should not be the case. You should be allowed to visit any doctor of your choice to seek medical treatment.
The same tactic is usually used in car repairs, where they will falsely tell you that you should take your car to an in-network mechanic when you can actually choose any repair facility you like.
Car insurance companies usually make ways to reduce the amount of money for payout claims. They take advantage of a person’s lack of knowledge, so it’s best to learn some of their common tactics and what you can do to have the compensation you rightfully deserve.