So you were in a car accident—and now it’s time to file an insurance claim for your injury-related losses. You may think you should just call the liable driver’s insurer, to follow all of their instructions to receive your payment—but that’s how the insurance company fools you! If you have been in an accident of any kind, we HIGHLY recommend you call us now, for a FREE case evaluation at (800) 898-4877, or contact us now by CLICKING HERE. You don’t pay us a dime until we’ve won your case, so you have nothing to lose! In the meantime, here’s what you need to know:
The following seven secrets will tell you why you need to hire an experienced attorney to deal with the tricks that insurance adjusters will undoubtedly play on you.
1. Don’t delay your medical treatment! After your initial talking with an adjuster, you may feel tempted to wait to receive your medical treatments until you know the status of your payment. However, these claims can take a while, and delays in your medical treatment will only hurt your case. If you’re not following a treatment plan or stop treatments for any reason, the insurer will doubt the seriousness of your injuries. Instead, treat your injuries and let our attorneys worry about how to pay your medical bills!
2. Don’t trust the adjuster! Insurance adjusters want you to believe that they care about you—especially if you sustained serious injuries. They will often sound friendly and talk to you with compassion for what you’re going through. However, always remember that you are just one claim in the hundreds that they manage, and their manipulation tactics are used to close your case ASAP, as opposed to allowing your true healing to run its course!
The more a claimant trusts an adjuster, the more likely they are to believe what the adjuster says. Adjusters may promise that they will take care of you and you don’t need an attorney to help you! They simply don’t want you to have legal assistance because they know that having legal assistance will often increase your settlement. Adjusters work for the insurance company, get paid bonuses off of your loss, and they do NOT have your best interests in mind.
3. Don’t listen to the adjuster’s opinions! An insurance adjuster may give you an “honest” opinion about many aspects of your case, including whether you should talk to a lawyer (they will likely say you shouldn’t). In addition, adjusters can sneak in little comments during your conversations intended to manipulate your expectations. For instance, they may comment that your claim isn’t that substantial or that you own partial fault for the accident that may limit your settlement amount. These comments attempt to convince you to expect a lower settlement. This is one way in which they manipulate you to feel more inclined to accept a much lower offer than you truly deserve. If you want opinions about your claim, don’t talk to a biased adjuster—instead, call an attorney!
4. Don’t say too much! Adjusters will probably ask you to agree to make a recorded statement regarding the accident. Bad idea. They will work to take certain statements and twist them around to try to limit payout on your claim. You may state that you didn’t see the other car before the crash, and an adjuster may take that to mean that you didn’t watch the road or were distracted. Always hire an attorney to answer all questions from an adjuster. Do not give a recording. Adjusters may state that a recorded statement is necessary for your claim. It is NOT. You have ZERO obligation to give recorded statements or interviews at this stage of the legal process.
5. Don’t fall into a settlement trap! Many people are happy to get a check as fast as possible after a car crash. However, by offering a quick settlement, an adjuster is trying to get you to accept less than you deserve. This is especially true if any of your injuries remain undiagnosed—you can’t know the extent of treatments you’ll need and how much they may cost. If you don’t have all of the necessary information about your losses, do not blindly accept a quick settlement—no matter how good cashing that check may feel. Don’t fall into a trap by accepting a lowball offer. Review any settlement offers you receive with a skilled lawyer before you agree to anything.
6. Don’t risk handling your claim on your own! You may feel tempted to trust an insurance adjuster who tells you that you’re in for a simple, fast process. In reality, an insurance claim can turn into a roller coaster of delays, denials, and disappointments. This is all on top of the already stressful process of undergoing medical treatments for your injuries. The best thing you can do to protect your rights—and your sanity—is to seek help from an experienced car accident law firm. Too many people may not even realize they could have recovered a much larger possible settlement if they had skilled negotiators on their side. Don’t risk losing critical compensation by trying to handle a claim all on your own.
7. Consult an experienced attorney – Consultations should be FREE! Insurance adjusters may try to deter you from calling a car accident lawyer by saying that would waste your money. Always remember that consultations with personal injury lawyers should be completely free. There is NOTHING to lose by sitting down to discuss your rights with an attorney, so why wait any longer to call?
Contact Our Car Accident Lawyers for Help with Your Insurance Claim
Insurance claims can trick anyone, and most people may not even realize they were bamboozled until too late. Instead of risking the money you need for your losses, call our legal team for your FREE consultation. We will evaluate your rights and options and discuss with you the many ways we may be able to help
The nationally recognized attorneys of Stewart J. Guss, Attorney at Law, have fought against insurance companies and on behalf of our injured clients for more than 20 years. Because we take all of our personal injury cases on a contingent fee basis, you will not owe us a DIME unless we win your case. We are available 24/7, so call us today at (800) 898-4877 or contact us now by CLICKING HERE.
