Common Ways the Insurance Company Will Deny or Devalue Claims

Unfortunately, insurance companies will often take advantage of injury victims’ vulnerability directly after they’ve been hurt. While they are legally liable to compensate you for your damages, they rarely find it in their best interests to help you understand your rights from the very first call you receive.

Do not be fooled by the friendly, casual demeanor of the insurance adjuster who calls you immediately after your accident. Insurance companies are businesses and ultimately want to make money; they do so by doing everything in their power to avoid paying claims.

We’re not saying that all of them are bad, but rather, it’s important to protect yourself from an unfair denial or devalued settlement by knowing what you’re up against. Here are some of the most common sneaky tactics used by insurance companies.

Partially or Fully Denying Liability

In many cases, the insurance company may try to get out of paying a claim by flat out denying liability; in other words, they will deny that the driver they insure was responsible for the accident and instead insist that you were the one who caused the crash in some way.

Disputing Medical Claims

Insurance adjusters are not medical experts. Nonetheless, after reviewing your medical records and doctor’s notes, they may try to lower your settlement by stating that your injuries are not as severe as you claim them to be. Additionally, the insurance company may claim that your injuries should have healed sooner and your treatment is taking unnecessarily long.

Purposefully Delaying the Claims Process

Injury victims are more likely to accept a lowball settlement when they have no other options. In order to get you to take a lower settlement offer than you deserve, the insurance company may purposefully delay moving the claims process along so that the injury victim feels pressured into taking the offer.

Rushing to Get You to Settle

Some injuries may not exhibit obvious symptoms right away, and the insurance company knows this. Before too much time passes and more symptoms arise, the insurance company will want to offer you a quick settlement. They may even try to claim that you only have a certain period of time to take the offer before it’s off the table.

Convincing You That You Don’t Need an Attorney

Do not let the insurance company convince you that you don’t need an attorney. While the insurance adjuster will be looking out for the best interests of the company, an attorney will be looking out for yours. The one thing to keep in mind is that your claim is probably worth more, not less, than the settlement offered to you.

At Aizenman Law Group, our dedicated legal team is committed to helping those injured obtain the full and fair compensation they need to heal. We will stand in your corner and negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf so that you have the best possible chances of receiving a maximum financial recovery.

Contact our Tulsa injury attorneys at 631-769-8431 to get started with a free consultation.