In a car accident, one of the first things that crosses your mind is how you are going to manage your insurance firm. Insurance is of particular significance during the claims process regardless of being a victim or the at-fault party. However, Collins Law’s guide to Car Accident Lawyer in Birmingham can help you recover from a crash, providing you with the fair compensation you deserve. It is important for insurance companies and their operation in relation to car accident claims to be understood in order to guard your rights.
Once you have submitted a car accident claim, the role of the insurance company is to assess your car accident, establish liabilities, and pay out the claim with low costs. How do they do this anyway?
Table of Contents
Claim Investigation
The first thing an insurance company does after a claim has been filed is to investigate the accident. This generally includes re-examining police records, medical records, and any other evidence of what occurred, for example, photos of the accident site and/or statements of people who witnessed the accident. Although on the surface this might appear to be a simple process, insurance adjusters are experts at reducing payouts by examining the smallest details surrounding the accident.
Determining Liability
Determination of one’s guilt is one of the most important aspects of a car accident claim. The insurance companies will review the facts and evidence on who will be at fault, and it will have consequences on how much your claim gets. Sometimes they might even attempt to blame the victim, even in situations like Alabama, where the contributory negligence rule can prevent compensation if you are found even 1% at fault.
Negotiating a Settlement
After liability is decided, the insurance company will provide a settlement. However, their initial offer is usually much lower than you are entitled to. The insurance adjusters can put pressure on you to accept a quick settlement before you comprehend the level of your injuries and damages. This is a way of saving the company’s money.
Dealing with Disputes
When there is a dispute about facts, fault, or an amount to compensate, the insurance company can take too long to pay or decline the claim. That is when the intervention of an experienced attorney can make a lot of difference. A lawyer can assist in dealing with such disputes, find a settlement that is just, and file a legal suit when required.
Why Insurance Companies Always Lowball Settlements
Insurance companies are enterprises whose job is to make as much profit as possible, and one of the ways of doing so is by substantially reducing payouts. One of them may have the following reasons to pay you less than you deserve:
- Pressure to Settle Quickly: You can receive a call from insurance adjusters not long after the accident that offers you a quick payment. They assume that, after a crash, you can be in financial turmoil and want to settle the problem.
- Underestimating Damages: The insurance company may understate the injuries or the property damage to minimise the amount to be paid. They may not take a long-term approach to medical requirements, the effects of pain and suffering, and the overall damage to your life.
- Blame-Shifting: In most instances, the insurance companies will always try to limit their financial liability by blaming you or the other driver or blaming external factors like the weather.
A car accident lawyer’s role in helping.
If you are already trying to recover from injuries, having to deal with an insurance company after an auto collision can be overwhelming. That is why a car accident lawyer can come in handy at this point. A lawyer can help you in the following way:
- Ensure fair compensation: An attorney can assess your case and explain the true worth of your claim to you and make sure that the insurance company does not lowball you.
- Handle negotiations: Lawyers have negotiated with adjusters before and are able most of the time to obtain a higher sum in settlement compared to the initial offer by the company.
- Fight against unfair denials: If the insurance company rejects your claim or gives you an unsatisfactory settlement, then an attorney can represent you in this capacity and file any needed legal action.
Conclusion
Although insurance companies are there to provide financial assistance in the event of a car accident, they are primarily concerned with ensuring their bottom line is safe rather than ensuring you get the compensation you deserve. Being familiar with how insurance companies operate and how they might also try to not give you the most for your payout will help you not to get taken advantage of.