SEVEN THINGS INSURANCE COMPANIES DO TO FIGHT LOW-IMPACT CAR ACCIDENTS
The car accident attorneys at Zanes Law help thousands of injured clients each year resolve their car accident injury claims. The size of our law firm allows us to take on many cases that other lawyers refuse to handle. Specifically, our lawyers in Tucson and Phoenix handle hundreds of cases that the insurance companies classify as low-impact car accidents. These are cases where the vehicles involved typically have less that $1000.00 in property damage. Personal injury attorneys typically will not take on these cases because they know that the insurance companies will argue that a person involved in this type of accident could not have been injured, but at Zanes Law our attorneys have always been willing to fight for these clients.
Why are we willing to fight? What makes our car accident lawyers different? It is simply our willingness to fight! Our lawyers know that the research supports our clients and shows that the majority of car accident injuries occur at relatively low speeds of about 12 mph or less.
In Short, the insurance adjuster will take the position that you are lying about being injured and will focus on the seven things listed below in order to fight your claim.
- The insurance adjuster will focus on the property damage.They will want to obtain photos of your entire vehicle in order to document what any damage visibly looks like, and to also document any preexisting damage.
- The insurance adjuster will want to get an appraisal of any damage to your vehicle.
- Recorded statement from you. The insurance adjuster is going to ask you questions meant to get you to say something that could allow them to deny your claim. Understand that you do not have any legal obligation to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s adjuster. If you decide to grant a recorded statement, ONLY do it in the presence of your own attorney.
- Background information. The adjuster will search different databases in an attempt to show that you file fraudulent insurance claims. Those databases include the ISO Claimsearch and the National Insurance Crimes Bureau. Don’t give your Social Security number to the adjuster. That just makes his job of getting your background information easier.
- Have experts evaluate your damages. The insurance adjuster will hire experts in order to deny or minimize your claims.
- Settlement. Low speed/low impact claims usually have a low settlement value from the insurance adjuster’s perspective. The adjuster knows that it doesn’t usually make economic sense for a personal injury attorney to litigate a case this small, as it could cost them $5000-$10,000 to litigate. So, if the adjuster makes a “take it or leave it” low offer, your attorney will likely take it. That saves a ton of money for the insurer, and the adjuster gets to close another file and look good to his boss.
- Waiting and delay. Insurance adjusters and their insurance companies love to delay! This is their most impactful tool because, even though you may need to get your case done and can’t afford to wait, the insurance company can. They know that delay leads to compromise and compromise leads to lower claim settlements.
Nevertheless, insurance companies responsible for compensating victims who have been involved in these low-impact car accidents will fight until they are forced to pay out. To these insurers, there really is no speed at which they want to admit an injury could occur, especially a low speed accident. For economic reasons, insurance carriers try to dismiss whiplash injury cases as if they do not exist.
The personal injury lawyers at Zanes Law focus on helping our clients who have been injured in accidents. To learn about our services please click on this link. If you have been injured in any way, please call us and we will do our best to help you just like we helped our many clients who have left us 5-Star Google reviews
