Company Secrets
What The Insurance Companies Don't Want You To Know
Not all insurance adjusters are mean and sneaky. But let's face it, insurance adjusters have a job to do, and the system is not stacked in your favor. Knowing more about the secret tactics the insurance companies employ can improve your chances of winning against the insurance companies.
If you have been seriously injured, find an experienced injury attorney. Your case deserves the expertise of a lawyer who knows the "game" that the insurance company (or defendant) will try to play to avoid having to pay fair compensation.
While not every minor injury case will need a lawyer, it always helps to be better informed of your rights. Mark and Alexis Breyer, known as "The Husband & Wife Law Team", have written the guide to protecting your injury case, "The Master Guide to Arizona Injury Claims." If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at. Although we are selective with the cases we take, as we only handle serious injury and wrongful death cases, we are still happy to guide people who call us in the right direction and answer all their questions.
Delay
Insurance adjusters know that injury victims are usually in a financial pinch. For most people who have suffered serious injury, the lost income is devastating. Since our clients never had the chance to prepare or plan for the negligence of someone else, there is often a financial crisis that can jeopardize family security. Even people who have health insurance and working spouse will still be threatened with devastating financial harm, potential damaged credit, and other serious problems.
Defendants and insurance companies are sophisticated enough to know that the longer they delay, the more desperate the injured person will become. The more difficult life becomes and the more threatened the plaintiff is with the loss of a home, loss of a car, or difficulty paying utility and phone bills, the greater the chance that the injured person will just give up prematurely and settle the case for a fraction of what they deserve and are entitled to under the law. Knowing how to speed the process up - and more than that, knowing what to expect and some methods of coping with the delay - greatly increase the chances that the one-time settlement or jury verdict will be a fair one.
Delaying your consultation with an attorney could result in missed deadlines or lost evidence that could've helped your case.
Request Unnecessary Information
When it comes time to settle the case, many insurance adjusters act as though they need that "one last piece" of documentation to finish their evaluation and make an offer to settle. Often times, this is just one more way to delay the case, or to go on some sort of "fishing" expedition hoping to find something that can cause your case harm when there is no reason to believe that any would exist. It is important to know that the injured person does not have to sign every medical release form presented to them, nor do they have to turn over every piece of information requested. Knowing what is reasonable and what is unreasonable - what the adjuster has a right to receive to do a complete analysis to do the job right as opposed to just being abusive - is vital. This determination often requires the experience of a skilled personal injury lawyer.
If the injured person does not know when to say "no," they will often find themselves encountering even greater abuse. We have seen insurance companies request documents that are 30 years old that have nothing to do with the injury that was suffered. These types of requests are baseless, and agreeing to the wrong ones can delay a worthwhile case.
Misrepresent Insurance Benefits
The insurance company does not have to tell you their policy limits in most cases. It is important that someone who has suffered a serious injury know how to verify that the alleged insurance policy benefits are accurate. There are various methods to accomplish this, and while none are guaranteed methods of ascertaining the truth, the combination of having the adverse driver sign an affidavit, getting asset checks performed, checking insurance company documents, and getting certified copies of declaration of policy limits, or taking a depositions of the adverse driver on these issues can increase the chances of determining how much insurance money is available as compensation.
They Act Like Your Friend
Some of the adjusters out there are very nice. There is nothing evil or wrong with being an adjuster, and many are well-meaning people. While some will try to deceive a claimant, many will be honest in what they say. However, it is vital to remember that the insurance adjuster is not a "friend," and has a job to do that is against your best interests.
To over-simply their job, it is the adjuster's job to report to their supervisor that they settled your case for the least amount of money possible. What would happen if an adjuster agreed to pay everyone who was injured what the injured person thought was fair and reasonable? The adjuster would probably not keep their job for very long.
If an adjuster comes to your house or promises to pay your future medical expenses, beware. This is often an empty promise that will never be followed-up on, but will instead be used to trick you into thinking you are dealing with a company you can trust, only to later learn it was an attempt to prevent you from hiring the best injury attorney you could find for your case.
In truth, the tactic of using empty promises about making future payments is very successful. We have seen fair and reasonable people lose their rights by waiting too long and making too many mistakes — missing deadlines and failing to obtain evidence in a timely manner - all the while waiting for that reasonable payment that never comes.
Ask You to Sign Forms
When an adjuster asks you to sign forms, it is sometimes done to gather information they have a reasonable right to see. However, these forms which require a claimant's signature sometimes cause that seriously injured individual to lose all of their rights, and other times lead to the collection of irrelevant information that the insurance company tries to use against you.
We almost never let our clients sign any of these forms. Why does the adjuster need you to sign these particular forms? Never sign any forms from an insurance company unless they have been approved by your experienced lawyer. If you are considering signing forms, ask the adjuster to put in writing why he wants the forms signed and what he plans on doing with the documentation. Ask them if they will sign something that states the documentation will never be used against you in a deposition or at settlement. The adjuster will almost never agree to do that, as the adjuster is hoping to find information to use against you, even where you have done nothing wrong and were not the cause of the incident.
Ask for a Recorded Statement
Never give a recorded statement unless you are certain that skilled insurance claim attorneys would support that decision. If you are even contemplating giving a recorded statement, ask the adjuster if he or she will give you a copy of the liable party's recorded statement in exchange for yours. Ask the adjuster to give you a copy of any witness statements that were taken. Even under those circumstances, giving a recorded statement is a bad idea.
The primary reason the insurance companies want a recorded statement is so that they can try to twist your words and use an honest statement against you at a later date. We know you may be thinking, "But I tell the truth." (Good, you'd better tell the truth or no good lawyer will represent you and the jury will never believe you, if the case goes to trial!) However, it is foolhardy to trust that they will not try to use the recorded statement any way they can, even to the point of taking things out of context. If the adjuster just wants to know what happened, why do they insist on a "recorded" statement, when a statement that is not recorded would provide them all the answers they want?
They May Tell You Not To Consult With an Attorney
People tell us all the time the reason they let so much time go by after they were injured is because the adjuster told them they did not need to hire an attorney. It's important to consult with a bad faith insurance lawyer as soon as possible. It doesn't mean you need to hire one or that your case even needs one, but you should speak to an experienced lawyer to make sure you don't miss deadlines or give information to the insurance company that is unnecessary or likely to cause your case to end up in litigation.
The bottom line is that insurance companies are out to make money. They spend millions of dollars devising better ways to process claims so they are profitable. Remember, the insurance adjuster and the company they represent are professionals - don't risk your case by going in blind.
Allowing these - and other - tricks to work could take away the reimbursement of lost wages and medical expenses that can allow someone to get back on their feet after a terrible accident. The Husband & Wife Law Team of Alexis Breyer and Mark Breyer are ready to build an aggressive case to help you get the compensation and restitution that you deserve. Contact us and we'll give you a no-cost consultation to help you understand your legal options.