When you suffer serious injuries in a car accident, your whole life gets turned upside down. You may not be able to work. You may be suffering from chronic pain and you may need surgery or other expensive medical treatments to recover. The last thing you need is for your auto insurance company to try to minimize your injury claim.
However, that’s not uncommon. Between 10 to 26% of those who file auto accident claims have problems getting their claim approved. The following are the top five ways insurance companies try to undermine injury claims:
- Attack your medical claims. Your insurance company will seek to prove that your injuries aren’t as severe as you claim. Your insurance company may request you see a doctor that they approve. However, that doctor may minimize your injuries. Your insurance adjuster may ask you to complete a medical release. As part of that, your insurance company will seek all of your records, trying to show your current injury isn’t from your accident.
- Play dumb by claiming your policy doesn’t cover your claim. In this scenario, your insurance company claims you either don’t have insurance coverage at all or your policy doesn’t cover your claim. The insurance company’s goal is to delay your claim long enough and put the burden on you to prove your coverage, so you accept a smaller injury settlement.
- Cite lack of evidence for your claim. Insurance companies often claim that they don’t have enough evidence to process your claim. However, you can prevent that by making sure you call police to the scene of the accident, file a police report, get witnesses’ contact information and take photographs with your phone of the accident scene and damage.
- Pressure you to accept a settlement for your claim. Insurance companies often offer low-ball settlements for injury claims. Your insurance provider may offer a settlement early on, harassing you to accept it, so they can avoid having to pay more for your injuries.
- Delay your claim until creditors start harassing you. You may make several calls to your insurance company about your claim’s status and never hear back. The delay may go on so long that creditors begin harassing you about unpaid medical bills.
If you suffer major injuries in a car accident, you should consult a personal injury attorney about your auto accident injury claim. An experienced attorney can help ensure your insurance company doesn’t try to undermine your claim and you get the compensation you deserve.
