Six reasons not to trust an insurance company

After being injured in a car accident, you probably just want some compensation so that you can obtain the medical treatment that you need and secure the financial stability that is necessary to allow you to recover as fully as possible. That may sound simple enough, especially when insurance companies, including your own, appear more than willing to settle your claim.

Why you shouldn’t trust insurance companies

But you should be wary of insurance companies, even your own. Here are just a few reasons why you shouldn’t trust these companies:

• Insurance companies are businesses that are tasked with making a profit. Therefore, they’re focused on paying as little as possible to settle claims. This means that they’re not really invested in ensuring that you have the compensation that you need.

• Insurance adjusters often act friendly to try to get you to make admissions that can later be used against you. This may include trying to induce statements indicating that you were at least partially at fault for the accident, which would kick in the state’s comparative fault statute and save the insurance company money.

• Insurance companies are represented by sly attorneys who know how to negotiate to their client’s benefit. Therefore, as you try to settle your case, you’ll probably be confronted with phrases like “this is our best offer” or “we can’t go any higher than this.” These are negotiation strategies, which means that you shouldn’t buy into them too much because those statements probably aren’t true.

• Insurance companies may try to get you to give a recorded statement. The adjuster or someone else from the insurance company may claim that the statement is needed so that they can process your claim or better analyze the compensation that should be paid to you, but this isn’t true. They are simply trying to lock you into statements that they can use against you later.

• Insurance companies are not forthcoming. You may think that your insurance company is telling you everything, but they’re not. Therefore, they’re not going to tell you what you might be able to recover through the claims process or through litigation. In fact, they may make statements that lead you to believe that you’ll recover less than that to which you’re entitled. Don’t fall for their bluffs.

• Insurance companies oftentimes try to drag out the process. There are a number of reasons for doing this. To start, evidence can go stale, and memories can become hazy over time, which means that you might find it harder to prove your damages the further away from the accident you get. Also, you have a limited amount of time to file your claim or pursue a personal injury By dragging out the process, an insurance company may push you past those deadlines. Insurance companies sometimes prey on desperation, too. So, the longer you go without compensation, the more you may need it and the more you may be willing to accept a settlement that is far less than you deserve.

Should you have an advocate on your side?

Insurance companies are not your friend. Therefore, you need to be careful in your interactions with them, making sure that you do everything in your power to protect your interests. This means that you need to know how to evaluate your case and build strong legal arguments. If you think that you could benefit from having an advocate on your side in these matters, then consider sitting down with an attorney to discuss your unique set of circumstances.