Your insurance company may advertise that it’s on your side, but when you really need help and support, you may find that it does everything it can to devalue, or diminish the value of, your claim. This is because insurance providers operate as for-profit businesses. Knowing what tactics insurance companies often use to try to devalue claims can help you protect your rights.
Recorded Statements
An insurance claims adjuster, or the insurance representative assigned to handle your claim, will ask your permission to record a statement from you. It is in your best interest to decline. The recorded statement is a strategy to use your own words against you later. The adjuster may ask for details about your injuries before you’ve seen a doctor, for example, and then use inconsistent statements from you (as you learn more information) to undermine your credibility as a witness.
Questioning Liability
An insurance company may try to shift some or all of the blame onto you for the accident. Under Connecticut’s comparative negligence law, if you are found to be more than 50 percent at fault for an accident or injury, you will be barred from making any financial recovery.
If you are 50 percent or less at fault, your financial recovery will be reduced by an amount equivalent to your degree of fault. Therefore, blaming you for the accident can allow an insurance company to pay less for your losses.
Unnecessary Delays
In Connecticut, insurance companies are required to respond to claims within 15 days. However, if the insurer needs more time to investigate, it can request an extension with a valid reason. Extending the investigative period without cause is a tactic used to devalue claims. The insurance carrier will count on you to be eager to accept the first settlement offered – even if it’s too low – after making you wait for a response.
Fast Settlement Offers
The opposite approach may also be used to undervalue an insurance claim; offering a fast settlement that is less than the claimant deserves but is represented as the “best” or “final” offer. A fast settlement can be tempting to accept, especially if you don’t yet recognize the true value of your claim. Insurance companies often make fast settlement offers before victims fully understand the extent of their injuries and losses.
Medical Release Forms
An insurance company may send you a Medical Authorization Release Form or something similar that asks for your permission to grant the insurance company access to your medical records. The insurer will do this under the guise of needing access to process your claim; however, the true purpose is to access your full medical history and search for reasons to reduce your payout, such as pre-existing injuries or medical conditions.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Insurance Claim
If you need to file an insurance claim for a car accident or another type of harmful incident in Connecticut, the best way to protect your rights is by hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer to represent you.
A lawyer understands how insurance companies work and the tactics they use to try to devalue claims. You can count on an attorney to negotiate a fair settlement from an insurer on your behalf while you focus on healing from your injuries.
An insurance company will not be able to take advantage of you with an attorney advocating for your rights. To learn more about how a lawyer can protect you from insurance company tactics, contact Loughlin FitzGerald, P.C. for a free consultation.
