Tricks Insurance Companies Play
If you have been in a car accident, especially one that caused serious injuries, you are probably dealing with many burdens: physical pain, emotional upheaval and more red tape than you imagined. When you contact an insurance company, then, you hope to be treated fairly and compassionately.
Unfortunately, while some insurance companies behave impeccably, others do not. Indeed, some insurance companies consistently turn away from what many would consider acceptable business ethics.
“Do You Have a Lawyer?”
If you get a call from an insurance company after your accident, the person on the other end of the line will probably ask you a number of questions, including whether you have an attorney. That friendly voice will not tell you the truth, however: that you should have an attorney if you want to protect your interests.
Instead, the insurance company representative will try to get you to accept a low payment, or no payment, knowing that you probably don’t have a legally knowledgeable person on your side. The sooner the insurance company can get you to accept a lowball offer and get you off the phone, the sooner the insurer can forget about you and your injuries.
Other Insurance Company Tricks
Insurance companies play tricks not only on people who are making claims against their customers; they also play tricks on their own customers who are filing claims. This is simply because it saves them money.
Tricks to watch out for include:
- Pressuring you to sign documents or make statements before you are ready
- Offering an accident settlement that is too low
- Offering a low value when your car is totaled
- Including important limitations and restrictions in the fine print of your contract
- Delay the payout so that you become too tired to keep fighting
- Delay the payout so that the insurance company can collect more interest on the money
- Claiming that your injuries arose from something other than the auto accident
- Claiming that your injuries are not as extensive as you and your doctor say they are
- Arguing that you caused the accident, or you should have been able to avoid the accident, when that is not true
This is not an exhaustive list. Be aware that you should protect your interests.
Speak With an Attorney
An experienced Boston car accident attorney can answer your questions and help you present a strong argument for why the insurance company should pay your claim.
Related Resource: MSN “10 Things Your Auto Insurer Won’t Tell You“
