How to Deal With Insurance Companies after Meeting with an Accident
When you have met with an accident that may have caused bodily injury in addition to the mental trauma, the process of dealing with the insurance company can be extremely tiring and tiresome.
While many insurance companies are responsible, ethical, and stick to the letter of the law, the industry has come under a fair bit of disrepute due to quite a few companies cutting corners and using deceptive practices to deny or pay minimal claim amounts when claims are lodged.
If you are aware of this tendency of insurance companies, read this to be more alert about your entitlements and the correct procedures for filing the claim and substantiating it. Some handy tips:
Do Not Treat Adjusters of the Insurance Company as Your Friends
Irrespective of the fact that the adjusters sent by the insurance company may seem to be quite warm and friendly folk, you need to maintain a certain amount of aloofness.
The reason why adjusters are specifically instructed by their insurance companies to be ultra-friendly with customers is because when they are comfortable, customers tend to admit a lot many things that can ultimately prove to be damaging to their claim.
At all points of time, when you are interacting with the company adjusters, you should keep in mind that they are employed to look after their company’s interests and not yours. The sole priority of insurance adjusters is to settle claims for as low amounts as possible.
Engage a Personal Injury Lawyer
While technically speaking, it is quite feasible for a customer to file his own claim. In fact, when you want to get motor insurance you will come across plenty of sales talk that claim filing is extremely easy and quick.
However, in reality, the procedure can be quite cumbersome and it is very easy to make mistakes that can compromise your claim. If the claim that you intend to file is large it is best that you engage the services of a competent personal injury lawyer as they are familiar with all the tasks necessary for submitting the claim, and then substantiating it.
If you have been injured physically in the accident, then having a lawyer ensures that you don’t have to run around to complete many of the formalities that are required for successful claims.
It has been observed that it is possible for you to receive larger settlements with the help of personal injury lawyers than by doing it alone.
You also need to know that the insurance company will be employing a professional team of lawyers to contest the case, and a lay person will usually be extremely ill-equipped to fight them on points of law.
With a lawyer by your side, you will also be better able to protect yourself from any discrimination or unethical practices by the insurance company.
Be Prompt With the Claim Filing
Almost all insurance companies specify that insurance claims should be lodged within a certain number of days after the occurrence of the incident, and also submit the rest of the information required to process the claim within a given schedule.
This is applicable when you are lodging a claim against your own insurance company. Not complying with the timelines specified will not only make your claim ineligible but also send out a signal that it was frivolous and unimportant.
You should also keep in mind the statute of limitations, which if exceeded, could disallow you from filing the claim for all times.
Know Fully the Extent of Damages
Even before you file a claim, you should be able to ascertain the extent of the damages incurred. This is an area where your lawyer will be able to help you as you need to take into account a lot of things that you may miss out ordinarily.
Not only do you need to include the damage to the property but also medical bills, including hospitalization, medicine, rehabilitative care, travel costs, loss of wages, impact on earning capacity, and compensation of various kinds.
Consult with your lawyer about what you are eligible for and gather the supporting documentation from the various sources. Let your lawyer review them as defects in the documents could delay or even affect the settlement.
Author bio: David Wicks is an experienced auto insurance consultant who works in association with a number of leading insurance companies to get motor insurance for his customers. He contributes regularly with articles of common interest to http://rsadirect.ae/
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Category: Insurance
