Insurance adjusters are not your friends! Don’t be fooled by their charm and knowledge.
With an average of 300 files per adjuster, the seasoned insurance adjuster has a lot of practice in tricking you into saying something that could damage your case and convincing you to take a lower than fair settlement. Since you are reading this website, I am sure you are a smart person; but don’t be fooled to thinking that you have more experience than an adjuster with thousands of cases behind them.
A simple and honest comment that your neck and back hurt can cause an adverse impact on your case. Why? Because TODAY your neck and back hurt, but tomorrow the pain may radiate down to your legs. But you didn’t mention leg sciatica pain in your statement…guess what? You have just provided the adjuster with an argument not to pay for treatment related to the leg pain. Bottom line: You can’t hurt your case if you don’t say anything!
Lets think about it for a second. What is the business that an insurance company is in? They protect us from risk (our negligence) and in turn we pay them money; and if there is a claim on a policy they pay out claims. So it goes to reason that the more they pay, the less the insurance company makes; and the opposite is true, the less they pay out, the more the insurance company makes. Sounds simplistic, but at the end of the day, that is the bottom line.
Can you believe that many adjusters are actually paid a bonus if they paid out less than anticipated on a claim? That should not surprise you. Every business is out to profit, and the insurance company is no different. By hiring a personal injury lawyer, you are leveling the playing field. You are telling the insurance company that you will not be pressured to take a less than fair settlement and that the power and force of the justice system stands behind you if they desire to pay anything less than a fair and equitable settlement.
So when hiring an attorney, an Insurance company evaluates your case much differently than those who aren’t represented by a lawyer. The insurance company knows that if they don’t settle the claim for a fair amount, they will be on the hook not only for the claim, but also for attorney’s fees in defending their own case. That means more money spent by the insurance company and that is bad for their bottom line.
Remember these points if contacted by an insurance adjuster:
1. Do not speak with an insurance adjuster about the facts of your case or your injuries
2. Contact Funk & Associates immediately after an injury accident and I will personally advise you of your rights.