The most important thing you should know when dealing with an insurance company adjuster after an accident is they are not your friend. You are inherently in an adversarial position when making an insurance claim because you want to maximize your compensation while insurance companies want to minimize it to protect their profits. This is true even when you’re dealing with your own insurance company. This is why it is important to hire a Carlsbad car accident attorney who has experience dealing with greedy insurance companies.
Insurance companies are able to rake in billions of dollars every year by receiving more money in premiums than they dole out for claims. They are incentivized to reduce or deny as many claims as possible. Here are some of the tactics they use to accomplish these objectives:
Asking for a Recorded Statement
You’re so used to being recorded now that you might not even think twice about agreeing to a recorded statement. However, insurance companies use these statements to deny claims all the time. They may try to lock you into certain statements only to suggest you were lying later when your statements are inconsistent with the evidence. Insurance adjusters will try to twist your words to fit their narrative, so beware.
Minimizing Your Injuries
During the recorded statement, an insurance adjuster may ask the common question, “How are you?” You might respond with an innocent “fine.” Next thing you know, the insurance company is saying that you were not really injured since you were “fine.” Insurance adjusters may say you are exaggerating your injuries to get a higher settlement or downplay them to justify a lowball settlement offer.
Blaming Your Injuries on Other Causes
Another tricky tactic insurance companies may use is to request a medical release form to “expedite your claim.” However, once the company gets this blanket release form, they use it to pull as many medical records as they can find. Next, they try to blame your injuries on some pre-existing condition or long-ago accident. You should speak to a Carlsbad personal injury lawyer before discussing the accident with insurance.
Denying the Insured’s Negligence
California is an at-fault state for car accidents. The party responsible for causing the accident is financially responsible for paying damages. Insurance companies may try to get out of paying these damages by denying that their insured acted negligently, thereby putting the burden on you to show how the crash occurred.
Blaming You for the Accident
Some insurance adjusters are so bold that they may blame you for the accident even when evidence points in the other direction. If this isn’t possible, they may try to get you to admit you are partly at fault for the accident. Even simply by saying “I’m sorry” at the accident scene, you could be implying fault.
Under California’s pure comparative negligence system, if you are partially at fault for the accident, your compensation can be reduced by your degree of fault. The insurance company may try to attribute as much fault to you as possible to reduce your settlement amount.
Stating You Don’t Need a Lawyer
Some insurance companies are so brazen that they tell claimants they don’t need a lawyer. A good rule of thumb is when someone says you don’t need a lawyer, you need a lawyer. An experienced Carlsbad motorcycle accident lawyer from Miller & Steele can protect your interests and handle all interactions with insurance companies. Call us at (760) 840-5221 or contact us online for a free consultation to discuss how we can help during the claims process.