Don’t Let Insurance Companies Treat You Unfairly

Insurance companies are businesses.  Like most businesses, they try to make a profit.  While there is nothing wrong with making a profit, one of the ways that many insurance companies seek to make a profit is by paying as little as possible to compensate the victims of injuries.  Because of this, you have to be careful not to let an insurance company convince you to take less than your case is worth.

Just when I think insurance companies can’t get any lower, they prove me wrong. Here’s the latest. In cases where it’s clear their insured caused a wreck, insurance company adjusters are telling the victim that they can only pay a percentage of the value of the claim because the victim was some to blame. They may use the terms “contributory” or “comparative” negligence.

Just this week I had a person call me in a case where the other driver clearly turned left in front of her; the person even got a ticket for failure to yield. The property damage adjuster called her and told her the insurance company was offering $7,000 for her totaled car. Her car was worth $8,800.  The adjuster told her the $7000 was due to a 20% deduction for her contributory negligence.  In other words, the insurance adjuster said she was 20% to blame for the wreck happening.

Isn’t it easy enough to correct the adjuster by pointing out the police officer faulted their insured? The adjuster almost always says the police officer isn’t the final say, and their driver says the report is not right; so the insurance company can only pay a percentage of the damages.  That’s not right!

If you didn’t cause the wreck, you are entitled to be paid 100% of your damages – for your wrecked car and your bodily injuries. What these insurance companies hope is that you will decide it’s not worth fighting over, and they’ll get by with paying you 20%, 30% or 40% less than what they owe you. Don’t take less than it’s worth.

If an insurance company tries to pull this or any other trick on you, an attorney can help you know your rights.  If you would like a free consultation with an attorney in our office who handles personal injury claims, you can simply call us or fill out the “Need Help” form on this page. It won’t cost you anything to talk to us and let us tell you if you are a victim of this or any other insurance trick.