Five Things Auto Insurance Companies Will Do to Deny Your Claim
Car insurance providers often use different tactics to deny compensation claims and minimize their financial liabilities.
They anyway want to settle the case by paying minimal compensation to the defendant.
Knowing these five tactics ahead of time helps you handle insurance adjusters if you sustain injuries from a car crash.
Five Ways Auto Insurance Companies Try to Deny Your Claim
1. Tell You Lies
Lying is the most common tool that auto insurance adjusters use to deny compensation claims. And they lie in a few different ways like:
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Producing False Evidence or Witness Statements
Insurance adjusters may tell you that they have evidence or witnesses that can prove you’re at fault for the accident. However, they most likely won’t be able to substantiate such claims when you ask for them.
This lie is to convince you not to pursue the case and make you settle with a smaller offer.
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Convincing You to Stop Receiving Medical Treatments
Another lie that car insurance companies may use is telling you that there’s a limit to your medical compensation. They would say that you’re entitled to receive only a certain amount for treatment.
You may thus opt to stop receiving medical treatment because you worry about paying the medical costs.
However, if you do this, the adjuster will claim that you stopped treatment because you recovered, and thus deserve a smaller payment.
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Tell You Not to Hire a Lawyer
Insurance adjusters often claim that lawyers are unnecessary in an auto accident case. They’d try to convince you that hiring an attorney merely increases your expenses.
The truth is, a legal expert can help maximize your compensation claim. They help you get the amount you deserve, and only a part of it goes to pay the attorney’s fees.
2. Ask Recorded Statements from You
Another tactic that insurance companies often use is asking for recorded statements. They would visit you and tell you that the recording lets you state your side of the case.
That seems harmless, but they can use it against you as well.
For example, they’d ask, “How are you?” Probably, you’d immediately answer, “I’m great.”
The insurance company can use your simple answer to show that you’ve already recovered. They can even edit your audio recording to change the tone of your voice and make it sound a bit livelier. And that is to prove that you don’t need further treatments.
3. Ask You to Sign Medical Authorization Documents
Signing a medical authorization means you’re letting somebody access all your medical records. If the insurance company can access such information about you, they would use that against you.
For example, they may claim that you’re at fault for a car crash because of an existing health issue.
That’s why you should never grant such authorization to an auto insurance company.
4. Delay Your Case
Insurance companies are also known to purposely delay the development of compensation claims. That’s to let the statute of limitations expire for your case and prevent you from claiming compensations.
Common delaying tactics they use are:
Denying they’ve received settlement agreements from you, even if they did
Make their adjusters change contact numbers now and then to make communication difficult
Asking for additional unnecessary details and documents
5. Compel You to Accept Settlement Offers
Lastly, insurance companies tend to make low settlement offers to quicken the process. They would compel you to accept the cash right when you need it the most.
Most of the time these offers are significantly lower than what you deserve. Moreover, when you accept such settlements, you can’t ask for more compensation later on.
Hire an Auto Accident Attorney in Glendale to Avoid these Tactics
Insurance companies are businesses. That’s why they don’t want to pay large compensations.
However, you should receive the compensation you deserve to cover essential expenses that result from your injury. Hiring an auto accident lawyer in Glendale helps you avoid these tactics, and properly deal with insurance companies.