How Do I Handle Communication With Insurance Companies After an Accident?
Minimize contact with an insurance company until a lawyer settles the case.
Very carefully. Insurance company adjusters are not friendly, affable people like the ones seen on TV. In fact, many telephone insurance adjusters in Florida are independent adjusters. IAs are the adjusters of choice in some cases. But not following a car accident or other accident. IAs know nothing about you, your history with the company, or any other relevant facts. Additionally, while they are technically independent, they try their best to extract damaging information from people who, in many cases, are not thinking clearly.
Accident victims cannot speak freely with insurance adjusters, but they can speak freely with a Brandon personal injury lawyer. When telephone adjusters hear facts that undermine your claim, company lawyers use that information against you later. When an attorney hears such information, an attorney uses it to strengthen the claim. Maximum compensation is unavailable unless a lawyer anticipates legal defenses and is prepared to refute them.
At the Scene
Usually, victims must only speak to emergency responders and their own insurance company adjusters at the scene of an accident. These conversations should be as brief and to the point as possible.
Cooperate with police officers, and of course, cooperate with doctors and other medical professionals. But do not volunteer any unnecessary information, even if you think it might be relevant. Any answer to any question that is longer than five words is probably too long.
That is especially true when communicating with your own insurance company. Usually, policies require policyholders to report accidents immediately. However, policies do not require policyholders to furnish all the details. Let your Sarasota personal injury lawyer handle the conversation later.
If possible, do not speak to the other driver’s insurance company or to the other driver. As mentioned, telephone adjusters twist victim statements into damaging admissions. As for interaction with the other driver, a simple and sincere “I’m sorry” could be twisted into an admission of liability.
During a Case
Frequently, insurance company adjusters reach out to victims while they are still in the hospital and make settlement offers. It is tempting to take the money and move on. But at this early juncture, no one can determine if that offer is fair. So, the answer is always “no.”
Once a lawyer gets involved, it’s illegal for insurance companies to directly contact accident victims. So, insurance company interaction often dies down to basically nothing. However, just because such communication is illegal doesn’t prevent insurance companies from attempting it. Usually, the tenor of these conversations is, “Let’s settle this thing now without getting the lawyers involved.”
At that point, however, the lawyers are already involved for both victims and insurance companies. In fact, many insurance company lawyers charge upwards of $1,500 per hour. Especially for smaller, cut-rate auto insurance companies, the legal bills pile up quickly. As a result, smaller companies are usually highly motivated to settle claims quickly.
Larger companies often have in-house lawyers. So, the company has the same legal bill, whether it folds like Superman on laundry day or fights the case all the way to the Supreme Court. Expect a fight in these cases.
Count on a Dedicated Hillsborough County Attorney
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Brandon, contact Carman & Finegan, P.A. Virtual, home, and hospital visits are available.