Unfair Insurance Companies Tactics
I have often had clients who think that the other person’s insurance company will want to treat them fairly. That is not the case.
Insurance companies pay out the lowest amount possible to injured parties, regardless of what is actually fair. That is how they maximize their corporate profits.
Here are just a few of the things insurance companies do to people who do not hire a lawyer.
Insurance Strategy #1:
Use Delay As A Weapon
A classic insurance company strategy is to use delay as a weapon against you. There are many different ways that that they do this. Some of the most common are:
- Assigning a new adjuster who needs time to review the file (thus creating delay);
- Transferring the file to another office (thus creating delay);
- Non-responsiveness to phone calls or letters (thus creating delay).
How does delay help the insurance company?
- Unexpected injury often creates a financial hardship on a family that is magnified when there is a delay in resolving the case;
- Delay creates a “dilemma of uncertainty” for those unfamiliar with the claims process;
- Witnesses can move away and memories can fade with time, all of which can help the insurance company.
All of this creates stress which can cause an injured person to accept an unfairly low settlement offer.
Insurance Strategy #2
Frustrate You With “Low Settlement Offers”
Insurance companies often give offensively low settlement offers just to trigger the emotions of anger and frustration. These emotions are so powerful that sometimes unrepresented accident victims simply give up.
Insurance Strategy #3
Frustrate You With The Claims Process
Insurance company delays can cause an accident victim to become disenchanted with the entire process. The insurance carriers look for any way possible to discourage or prevent an injury victim from successfully obtaining fair compensation.
Solution
The solution to these techniques is to be patient and let your lawyer forcefully fight back for you.
- Being patient allows us to steadily increase the pressure on the insurance company;
- Being patient sends the message that you are not going to give up and go away.
If someone hurts you, they must be held accountable. Understanding the techniques insurance companies use to avoid that responsibility can help you stand firm in the journey for justice.