Don’t Fall For a Lower Offer From the Insurance Company
If you have been in any form of accident and you are pursuing an insurance claim, the chances are that you have had some kickback from the insurance company. Contrary to what some may think, insurance companies are in the business of making a profit, and this can mean that they make offers to you that are significantly lower than you were expecting.
And not just that, but in a lot of cases, you may find insurance companies “playing hardball” or refusing to negotiate your case with you. Offering you a “take it or leave it” offer far below what you could be entitled to. In cases like these, there are a few things that you need to do.
Insurance companies are not on your side. They bank on the majority of people accepting the first offer and not knowing what their claim is worth and not checking through policy documents to see what you really are entitled to. In many cases, they will delay, deny, defend, or reduce your claim as much as they can, regardless of the circumstances.
So, if you have been in an accident in either Colorado Springs or Las Vegas and an insurance company is putting pressure on you, check out the following tips for handling the pressure:
How can they put pressure on you?
There are a variety of ways that insurance companies might put pressure on you, which can include:
- Refusing to negotiate your claim
- Refusing to accept further evidence or investigate any support for your claim
- Giving you a “take it or leave it” offer
- Taking their time analyzing your claim to “run down the clock” before the statute of limitations expires
- Using overly complicated terminology or overwhelming you with jargon
- Trying to confuse or belittle you by citing laws in an irrelevant or overly complicated manner
Behaving in this way is their to attempt to force you to take an offer below your claim’s value. Make no mistake: insurance companies are not there to make fair payouts to you. They are organizations with the goal of making a profit, and often it is individuals like yourself who will take the hit in the value of their claims.
Speak with an attorney immediately.
It is crucially important to seek legal counsel if you feel that insurance companies are acting in bad faith or if they are putting pressure on you to settle your claim in a way you are unhappy with.
Most people will not have the knowledge or experience in dealing with insurance companies to know the fact from fiction. Because of this inexperience or lack of knowledge, you will be unlikely to know how to fight back and overcome their tactics.
Personal injury attorneys deal with situations like this day in and day out. They will be able to assess your claim and determine the real value of it. And with this knowledge, they can move the claim or case forward and stop any attempt at undervaluing your claim.
Claimants who use attorneys are much more likely to have success against insurance companies. A study by the IRC has shown that the average claim value increases by 3.5x when you work with an attorney. Kim Welch has experience litigating both for and against insurance firms and regularly uses her unique background to help increase the value of her client’s claims.
The best piece of advice that we can give is “do not delay.” Get a copy of your policy and the paperwork for your claim. Better yet, discuss it with your attorney who can gather that information for you.
Don’t believe everything that they tell you
Many people hear the typical line, “this is the most we can offer you.” This is often not true at all, but rather an attempt to have you accept the first number that they offer you. If you were seriously injured in an accident, and it looks like you will have ongoing medical bills, then accepting the first number that they give you may leave you footing the bill for years to come.
They might also tell you that you have to wait for a period of time to make your claim or no one is available to help you.
It might be, “there is nothing else I can do to help you.”
Or, in the worst of cases, they may threaten to deny your claim if you do not accept the offer today.
These are tactics that work in 2 ways:
- a) They create pressure and cause panic. The worry that if you don’t accept now, then you will go without.
- b) It forces you to wait until the statute of limitations for your claim has passed, and then you can no longer claim for anything.
Please do not believe everything they tell you. Take what the insurers have said and get advice. What that they say may be true, but you should not believe this at face value. An attorney can look through everything that they have told you and find the truth in the narrative.
Focus on your claim
You might be worried about your future premiums or future settlement amounts. We advise you to look at the current claim, rather than worry about future premium costs. Insurance companies are going to do what insurance companies are going to do. If an insurance company will increase your premiums in the future or reduce any future claim that you may make, they will do this regardless.
However, you are entitled to make a reasonable claim now. Your priority right now should be successfully winning the claim at hand. You do not know if you will need to claim in the future, and you currently do not know if they will change your premiums going forward. Therefore, you need to focus on the claim at hand.
If you have any concerns or worries about this, you can always discuss it with your attorney. Again, bullying tactics are not okay. If the insurance company uses future premium costs to threaten you into taking a lower settlement, then your attorney can raise this issue in your claim.
Do not be afraid to go to trial
Going to trial is always a last-case scenario. At Kim Welch Law, we prepare to take your claim in front of a judge and jury from day one, but this is still a last resort. We will do what is needed to help you receive fair and reasonable compensation, and no amount of pressure from an insurance firm will prevent us from fighting like a bulldog on your behalf.
We do not advise going to trial without legal representation. This is an entirely different ballgame, and it is in your best interest to work with a personal injury attorney rather than trying to “go at it alone.” This will significantly increase your chances of winning the claim and increasing its value too.
Often “bullying” or pressuring behaviors will go against the insurance company should it go to court. So, it is vitally important to keep all correspondences recorded. Don’t delete any emails and keep a written log of any phone calls you have with them. Write down bullet points of what was discussed, at what time, and the person’s name and their contact information.
What to do next if insurance companies are putting pressure on you in Colorado Springs or Las Vegas?
As mentioned, the most important thing is to find a personal injury attorney that you trust to represent your claim. If you have felt under pressure, then finding someone who will remove this pressure and help you to feel that your claim is in good hands is crucial.
Here at Kim Welch Law, we always put our clients first. We don’t require you to deal with us during the typical 9-5 workday, and we will always represent your best interest. We offer a no-obligation free consultation, meaning that you have nothing to lose but everything to gain by speaking with our team. Get in touch today by calling us at (888) 590-5510 or by completing the contact form on our website. Let’s see how we can help with your claim.