If you have been involved in an accident in South Carolina and you suffer injuries and damages, you are probably eligible to recover your costs through a personal injury claim. However, when dealing with insurance companies, you should know the tricks they may use against you.
The insurance companies hire highly trained negotiators, known as claims adjusters, responsible for talking to you and evaluating your claim. They are the ones who decide how much the insurance company will offer you to settle your injury claim. A claim adjuster’s goal will be to minimize the costs of the insurance company. Therefore, regardless of how nice they may seem, keep in mind that they are not your friends.
The insurance company would intend to convince you to settle quickly and for the lowest amount possible. Therefore, seeking advice from a South Carolina personal injury attorney is the best thing to do to protect your rights and get fully compensated.
Tactics Used by Insurance Companies to Avoid Paying Compensation
Using surveillance
Trying to find ways to avoid paying your personal injury claim, an insurance adjuster may try to record you on video secretly. They will try to capture you doing something that will make your claim void. They may even hire a private investigator to spy on you and take pictures of you doing things like carrying heavy items to prove your injuries are not that serious. Moreover, they may follow you on social media to gather evidence and use them against you.
Refusing to Cooperate With You
An insurance adjuster may try to delay the process to settle your personal injury claim, anticipating that you will decide to settle for a smaller amount. By intentionally stonewalling, they aim to make you either give up your claim or miss an important deadline to make your claim void.
Using Your Words Against You
Adjusters will try to trick you by asking confusing questions and use your answers to reduce your personal injury claim. Even simple questions like” How are you?” could be a trap. If you respond to the question by “I am fine,” they could use it as grounds to dismiss your claim. It would be best if you speak to a South Carolina personal injury lawyer before you communicate with an adjuster, that may trick you into providing a recorded statement that may risk the recovery of your injuries costs.
Getting Hold of Your Medical Records
An insurance adjuster will try to get you to sign a medical authorization form that releases all your medical records to them.
Even though insurance companies may refuse to compensate you using tricks as mentioned above, if their client is proven liable for the accident that caused you harm, they will have to pay. However, if the at-fault party does not have an insurance policy, you should rely on your insurer to recover your losses.
What to Do When the Insurance Offer Is Low
Insurers are well known for making low offers to settle personal injury claims. However, you could try and negotiate a better offer if you take some of the following actions:
- File a property arbitration claim
- Gather all information about your medical bills and income loss, and handle the negotiations of the at-fault person’s insurance company by yourself
- Hire a specialized personal injury lawyer
Contact a South Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer
If you or someone you love suffer damages caused in an accident and need to file a personal injury claim, an experienced Greenville personal injury lawyer can ensure that you will receive full and fair compensation from your insurance provider.
Call us today at Brumback and Langley law firm for your free consultation. A personal injury attorney can handle the negotiations with your insurer to obtain your case’s best result.
Sometimes, insurance companies refuse to cooperate. In that instance, our team of expert personal injury lawyers will work to protect your rights. One option would be sending a “policy limits demand” to them before filing a lawsuit against them. Another option could be forcing the insurance company to negotiate with you by suing the at-fault person, their client. Furthermore, you could sue the insurance company for acting in bad faith and denying your claim. Call us today to discuss your case and the available options.
