After a car accident, one of the first things you might do is call the insurance company. They will connect you with an insurance adjuster who is tasked with assessing your claim and your damage. While they might make you feel as if you’re in good hands, they do not have your best interest at heart. The adjuster is an employee of the insurance company and, as such, should not be trusted.
Why You Can’t Trust the Insurance Company Adjuster
There are a few reasons you can’t trust the insurance adjuster. Typically, the adjuster is trained to get information out of you. They want you to take the blame for the collision.
If you admit fault or answer a question the wrong way, your claim could be in jeopardy. The adjuster will know how to coax statements out of you and twist your words. You need to be cautious about what you tell them.
The insurance adjuster does not need to immediately collect a recorded statement. However, they are likely to push you to make a recorded statement. If they are able to get you to make a statement without an attorney’s guidance, the odds are in the insurance company’s favor.
Pushing You to Settle Before You Have Medical Care
If you claim injury as a result of your accident, the insurance adjuster may push you to disclose your medical information and settle your claim. But this could be a mistake. The adjuster knows that it’s impossible to predict the total cost of medical care until you have healed. By demanding urgency and asking you to settle before you’ve recovered, the adjuster saves the insurance company thousands or millions of dollars.
It’s important to realize that the urgency is a tactic used to pressure victims into a premature settlement. If you wait until you’re healed or at maximum recovery, you will know how much money to demand in medical expenses.
Requesting Medical Authorization Forms
You should expect to receive a medical authorization form from the adjuster. Once again, this is a tactic used to keep you from fair compensation.
They will tell you that the authorization is for your own good. Although they claim the purpose is to gather medical expenses, there’s another reason for the request. The authorization allows them to look at all of your medical records, whether or not they are pertinent to the crash. They will use your past medical history to argue against paying your medical expenses.
What You Should Do
In St. Louis, there were 260 serious injuries caused by car accidents in 2016. The city is one of the most dangerous places in the country for drivers. If you’ve been injured in an accident, you don’t need to leave your fate in the hands of the insurance adjuster. Instead, you can beat the insurance company at their own game. An experienced accident lawyer will advise you on how to deal with the insurance adjuster. More importantly, they will handle the negotiating and the arguing. While they do the work, you can recover.
If you want a fair outcome for your insurance claim, you need to fight for it. But most victims don’t have the experience or time needed to take on the insurance adjuster. When you work with an aggressive legal professional, you give yourself a chance at receiving a settlement check that pays all of your expenses. To get started, call Hipskind & McAninch today.