Insurance companies report profits in the billions each year industry wide. They are not hurting for money, thanks to their source of income: you (and millions of other insurance consumers). As the policyholder paying in premiums—whether monthly, quarterly, or annually, insurance companies can pool these enormous amounts of money and then pay off valid claims as they occur. The agreement between you and the insurance company is very simple, really; in fact, so much so that you may be quite confused when an insurance claim becomes seemingly complex for the insurer to deal with or just pay. After all, you did your part, right? You worked with an insurance agent and became educated on required coverages, purchased the appropriate policy or policies, and followed up on your end of the bargain – or the contract, which is known as the insurance policy.
So why are things so difficult when you file a claim and need the insurance company to uphold their part of the agreement? Sometimes there may be no answers except that the insurer is acting out of bad faith, poor business ethics, and sheer greed. You may be shocked to find that either the insurance adjuster calls right away and takes your information, issuing a quick denial with little good reason--or, the opposite may happen and there may be nothing but crickets chirping. There may be no investigation, no communication, and your claim may lie dead in the water until you hire an experienced injury attorney to protect your interests and get the claim moving along.
Unfortunately, insurance companies are powerful within their industry, and even in the economy of the US overall. Their central focus is making profits, not worrying about you. The only thing they are concerned about with you is spending as little time and money as possible. Some insurance adjusters may employ intimidation tactics to get out of paying claims, or to reduce the amount of the settlement by trying to make you think a low offer is the best you can possibly hope for—and that you better snap it up fast.
Insurance adjusters may grill you about the case. They may grill witnesses who were at the scene. Keep this in mind though: the worse the intimidation tactics are, the more you should be alerted to the fact that your case must be worth some money to the insurance company. One offhanded intimidation tactic that insurers will often try is overloading policyholders with requests for documentation. Most of us have basic personal documentation handy, but it can be challenging for anyone to find excessive amounts of documentation.
Your insurance company may even be asking you for items like tax returns from the past few years. This may seem very out of line, but the idea behind such requests is usually an agenda to prove that you need money and may have filed a fraudulent claim just to get some much-needed cash during times of financial duress.
The key to avoiding all these problems is to work with an experienced attorney—one who is used to handling claims after car accidents, truck accidents, or any types of traffic injuries that may have resulted in extreme property or physical damage. As soon as the insurance company begins calling you, refer them to your attorney so they can take the appropriate measures to see that you receive the compensation you deserve.
If you have been injured in a car accident due to the negligence of others, please call the law offices of Andrew ‘Pike’ Piekalkiewicz, PLLC as soon as possible at (713) 748-7453 or visit AttorneySgtPike for a no obligation case review. As a variation of the system employed in trucking cases, Sgt. Attorney Pike activates and deploys the Car Accident Response Team or C.A.R.T. ™ immediately after being hired and in appropriate cases. A team of specialized personnel trained in every aspect of car wrecks and injuries is deployed. Let us help you!
