Information You Should Know Before Making a Car Accident Insurance Claim
If you’ve been in a car accident, there are things you should know before making that call to your insurance company or another driver’s insurance company:
- First, insurance companies record everything you say and they have skilled adjusters that are very good at getting you talking and later twisting your words around against you. Maybe you were involved in a simple car accident such as a rear-end accident but it can quickly go bad for you if you do not know how to answers the questions.
- Insurance adjusters specifically ask you very general questions that have been well researched and designed in order to give the insurance company wide latitude for determining the value of your property damage, but more importantly–your injury claim. “How skilled are insurance adjusters at negotiating claims?”
We deal with insurance companies daily and in doing so, we are familiar with their strategies used to deny claims or minimize the amount of your claim. A simple question such as, “Have you ever been involved in a car accident?’” is designed to set you up for “pre-existing injuries”.
By speaking with our attorneys, you will be far better prepared to answer these seemingly simple questions that are designed to create obstacles in the payout of your claim.
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One of the most common misunderstandings is that your own car insurance company is looking out for your best interest and will treat you fairly.
- If another driver is at fault, you may get the “nice guy” approach from the adjusters, so that you will feel comfortable giving details that may later be used to deny your claim.
Your Insurance Policy(s)
We are all familiar with terminology such as comprehensive insurance, collision, medical payment coverage, uninsured motorist (UM), underinsured motorist (UIM), liability and even rental car coverage. You may think you have coverage that will take care of your property damage and all medical bills, however, insurance companies often conceal coverage or mislead you into believing you have coverage you thought you were paying for only to find out that in this particular crash, that coverage does not apply.
Whether or not you are injured, it is worth the five to ten minutes it takes to talk to one of our attorneys to get much needed information about how to approach the insurance contact.
Whether you become a client or whether you are able to negotiate a simple settlement yourself, we want you in the best situation possible in order to increase the odds of a fair settlement. After talking with one of our attorneys, you will at the very least have some essential knowledge before you start giving statements and answering questions.