When you are in an accident, there are two insurance companies that you have to consider, yours and the other party’s. When dealing with your insurance company, it is best to call them and let them know you’ve been in an accident. Report the factual information, time, date, location, and people involved. However, you don’t have to discuss any sustained injuries, and it is usually best to consult with a personal injury before discussing the details of how and why the accident happened. It is also in your best interest to NEVER give a recorded statement without talking to an attorney.
You are never obligated to talk to the other driver’s insurance company, and you should NEVER give a recorded statement or sign any form an insurance adjuster without consulting an experienced personal injury attorney. So, if you’re wondering why you shouldn’t talk to an insurance adjuster after an accident, here are some tactics that the insurance adjusters use.
Contacting you immediately – this is a tactic that adjusters use to minimize the amount of your claim. Studies show that injury victims with an attorney get 2-5 times more money than those without, and if the adjuster makes you feel comfortable enough, you won’t hire a lawyer. In fact, the first chapter of most claims manuals instructs adjusters to make early and friendly contact—if they can get to you before you have an attorney, it will save them money! They want you to settle before you know the full extent of your injuries and before you have a chance to have your case evaluated by a professional on your side.
Insurance adjusters act like your friends – Insurance companies are not prone to acts of generosity. They are in the business of making money and maximizing value to their shareholders. The main way they do this is by limiting how much they pay out for claims. Adjusters are the insurance company’s first line of defense. It is the adjuster’s job to resolve claims, but it is the adjuster’s job to pay as little as possible. What may seem like a friendly conversation with an adjuster is actually an attempt to find little details about the accident that they can use against you to minimize, delay, or deny your claim.
They will try to get a recorded statement and signed documents – Any conversation with the other driver’s insurance company can jeopardize your claim. This is especially true with recorded statements. The adjuster may ask you to give a recorded statement and present it as a routine request, or even demand that you make one. You are not required to give a recorded statement, and doing so could be damaging to your claim.
While you have probably never given a recorded statement, most adjusters have taken hundreds of them. They are trained to take your statement in a way that hurts your claim by asking leading, one-sided questions about the crash and sometimes the full statement is not transcribed, or transcribed incorrectly.
They do not want you to hire a lawyer – Insurance companies know they can pay you less money if you don’t have a lawyer. That is what happens when professional claims adjusters take on victims with little or no experience in resolving an injury claim. They contact you quickly after an accident hoping to get you to settle before you have a chance to contact a lawyer or learn what your rights are.
They may try to convince you that you will lose money if you hire a lawyer because of the fee that the lawyer will charge from the settlement.
For more information, check out our infographic here.
The Hines & Wilson Law Firm has more than 50 years of experience with personal injury claims. We’ve dealt with many insurance companies and their adjusters. Through this experience, we can ensure that our clients will receive just compensation. If you’ve been hurt in an accident, contact us. You can call us at (573) 443-4500, our toll-free number (877) 473-4500, or email us info@hineslawfirm.com for a free and confidential consultation about your claim.
