How Insurance Defense Lawyers May Mislead You
Following an accident, many people often assume that the insurance company will want to work with them and help them get the money they need to cover their harm and losses. But unfortunately, this is not how insurance companies work. Insurance companies are a business, and like other businesses, they too want to make a profit. As a result, while an insurance lawyer may not directly lie to you, they may leave out critical information about your claim or mislead you so that they can reduce the amount of money you receive from the insurance company.
Fortunately, there are things you can do in these situations, especially when the insurance defense lawyers try to deceive you. In this blog post, we will go over some of these insurance lies and the truth.
What to do about being mislead on a settlement?
When it comes to determining your settlement for a personal injury or accident, it takes extensive work to ensure your claim has all the accuracy it needs. One of our qualified and experienced personal injury lawyers can help you throughout the settlement process and provide the peace of mind you deserve.
The Insurer Claims They Will Help You Get the Money You Need After an Accident
Insurance companies will often promise you that they will try to help you following your accident and get you the most money they can. However, this is usually a lie or rather an attempt to get you to trust them, so you provide them the information they need to use against you.
Insurance adjusters will not help you get the most money because this will affect their bottom line and reduce their profits. As a result, it is not in their best interest to help you, and they may try to do everything to avoid this.
Insurance companies may even offer you an initial settlement, insinuating this is the most money you can receive from them. They will often present this offer shortly after an accident when you are most vulnerable and likely unable to thoroughly examine the offer or verify whether it is fair. They may even imply that pursuing further compensation may be a waste of time and money.
However, if you accept the offer, you will not be able to obtain more compensation down the road when you discover that the settlement did not cover all of your expenses and bills that resulted from the accident.
The Truth
You deserve to get the money you need to cover all of your current and future losses and expenses. For these reasons, if an insurance company offers you a settlement offer, before you accept anything, reach out to an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as you can. These legal professionals can go over this offer and determine if it justly compensates you. If it does not, they can go back to the insurance company and negotiate for an amount that does.
The Insurer Claims That if You Do Not Accept the Offer, You Will Receive Nothing
Another lie that an insurance company may provide you is that you will not receive further compensation if you reject an offer. However, not only is this not true, it is a common tactic that the insurance adjuster uses to get the victim to accept an offer, no questions asked, especially during the time they are suffering physically, emotionally, and financially.
The Truth
If an initial offer is too low and the insurance provider does not make any more offers, you may still be able to pursue fair compensation in court. When you work with a skilled personal injury attorney, these lawyers can take on these insurance companies and fight for the money you need, even if these insurers claim that you will receive nothing.
The Insurer Claims You Have to Accept the Settlement Offer Quickly, or You Will Lose It
The insurance company will want you to accept a settlement quickly because they will not want you to look into it further and realize that you should get more money.
Consequently, they will try to pressure you and claim you will lose out on compensation if you do not accept this amount promptly. Hoping that this tactic will prevent you from reaching out to an attorney who can calculate all your losses, so you have a better idea of the additional money you should ask for.
The Truth
While insurance companies sometimes set deadlines by when you have to accept an offer, or there may be regulations that dictate these terms, you typically will have a reasonable amount of time to verify whether the offer is fair to you.
However, to fully understand this situation, it is still recommended you reach out to a knowledgeable attorney as soon as possible following the accident so that they can provide you with the legal advice you need regarding this offer and figure out how much money you deserve for your injuries and losses.
The Insurer Claims It Is Not Worth Getting an Attorney, Since They Just Want to Get Paid
The insurance company’s main objective is to make a profit. That is why they have no issue telling you that retaining an attorney may be a waste of time and money since they are just looking for a payday, which can end up costing you money you do not have.
The Truth
Personal injury attorneys typically work on a contingency fee basis, meaning if they are not successful in your case, you will not have to pay their attorney’s fees. They also usually offer a free evaluation of your case to help you understand your legal options and the issues involved with the incident. They can even help you understand how these insurance companies use their sly practices to try to withhold money from you.
The Insurer Claims You Need to Make a Statement About the Accident
Getting you to talk after an accident is a common tactic the insurance company will want to do, especially if they can get you to make a written or recorded statement that they can ultimately use against you. They hope you will say or indicate something that can impact your case and allow them to make you a lowball offer or deny your claim altogether.
Even a simple question can lead to unfortunate consequences. For instance, if the insurance company calls you to ask how you are feeling, and you simply answer “fine.” They will use this comment to argue that you are not that injured after the accident or that the harm you sustained is less severe than indicated by your doctor.
The Truth
Before issuing any statement, you should speak with an attorney. These lawyers can help you understand these deceitful tactics and prepare you for what you should and should not discuss with these insurance companies. Better yet, these lawyers can even take on some of these discussions on your behalf, so you do not say anything that can hurt your case and influence the amount of money you receive.
The Insurer Claims Your Injury was Due to a Pre-Existing Condition and Not the Accident
The insurance company may refuse to get you the money you need by claiming your injury was not the result of an accident but rather a pre-existing condition or injury.
The Truth
Even if you have a pre-existing condition, you can still be eligible for compensation for the harm and losses you suffered due to the accident. However, it is often in your best interest to speak about this issue with an experienced personal injury lawyer who understands the tactics the insurance company will try to use against you to deny your claim in this situation.
The Insurer Claims Your Policy Does Not Cover Your Accident
The insurer may try to get you to accept less than you need or deny your claim by getting you to believe that you do not deserve more money because your insurance policy does not cover it. They often do this because they know most people may not know the full extent of their policy or have a complete understanding of everything their policy entails. As a result, they will try to mislead you about this information so that they can reduce the amount they pay you.
The Truth
Before you accept what the insurance company says, review your contract with an experienced legal professional. While some policies may have limitations on what they will cover after an accident, these limitations will depend on the insurance policy. In addition, some states even have guidelines that mandate that the insurance company must provide coverage under certain circumstances, even if the policy indicates otherwise.
For these reasons, you should discuss your case with a knowledgeable personal injury attorney. These lawyers can review the regulations in your state and go over the specifics of your policy to identify whether there are certain limitations or even exceptions to these limitations that can help you recover the money you need.
The Insurer Claims You Are Not Entitled to Damages Outside Your Medical Bills
To reduce the money they will pay you, the insurance company may infer that you do not deserve money for anything other than your medical bills, including your pain and suffering, emotional anguish, inconvenience, and the loss of enjoyment of life you suffered following the accident.
The Truth
Depending on the circumstances of your accident, you may pursue compensation for all your damages. Thankfully when you work with a skilled personal injury attorney, these lawyers can go over the facts of your case, determine which damages you can go after, and help you fight for the maximum financial recovery that you deserve.
Fight for the Compensation and Justice You Deserve with an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney at Your Side
After an accident, you already have enough to deal with. The last thing you need to stress about is whether the insurance company is trying to mislead you into accepting less money than you need or preventing you from getting maximum compensation.
That is why, following an accident, you should reach out to an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible. These lawyers can take on this challenging ordeal on your behalf, allowing you to rest and recover while they fight for the financial damages and justice you deserve.
Once hired, these attorneys can:
- Go over your accident with you in detail, figure out if you have a viable claim, and determine what legal options you can pursue.
- Go over your concerns and questions regarding the accident, the legal proceedings, and the insurance company’s tactics.
- Investigate your accident, figure out what happened, and secure the evidence needed to show fault and damages.
- Ensure that legal filings, motions, and other documents are correctly prepared and submitted to the proper court before the statute of limitations runs out.
- Hire experts, such as medical specialists, financial specialists, engineers, and accident reconstructionists to validate your claim and help you prove liability and the extent of your damages.
- Hold all the parties responsible for your accident accountable for your sustained harm and losses.
- Take on the settlement negotiations with the other side and the insurer, and go after a fair settlement amount that covers your current and future bills and treatments.
- Head to trial if the other side is unwilling to provide you with the money you need and fight for the successful resolution of your case and the maximum damages you deserve.
Do not let the insurance company get away with paying you less than you deserve following an accident by getting you to believe their lies. Instead, contact an experienced personal injury lawyer today for a free case consultation. Let these attorneys show you how they can fight for your rights and pursue the monetary recovery you need.
