Car Accident Lawyers

How Do I Deal with Insurance Companies After a Car Accident? Can a Car Accident Lawyer Help?

From the outside, it seems like insurance companies should be the ones to make the whole process after a car accident easier. In reality, they often make things more difficult for victims. Whenever you speak with an insurance company, they can twist your words and use them against you later in the case. With this in mind, it’s one of the main reasons for working with a car accident attorney when attempting to claim compensation.

Main Issues with Car Insurance Companies

When many victims receive a call from the insurance company, they breathe a sigh of relief and assume that this is the start of the end. However, insurance adjusters are listening carefully to what you say and will try to pin the accident on you at even the smallest opportunity. Feigning concern, victims trust insurance companies when their main goal is to trip you up. As soon as you make a mistake in what you say, the company has this mistake on record, and they won’t need to pay as much in insurance.

After an accident, it’s not just a simple case of claiming and receiving the money. Instead, insurance companies have several attorneys and adjusters just waiting to scrutinize the claim; many victims feel intimidated by insurance companies. Every year, a significant percentage of those involved in a car accident fail to get the compensation they deserve because of insurance adjusters and attorneys.

Benefits of Having a Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Lawyer

Consequently, it makes sense to have an attorney deal with insurance companies appropriately. Will my car accident lawyer deal with the insurance companies for me? In short, yes. They help in the following ways:

Communication

Firstly, know that communicating with the insurance company of the at-fault driver isn’t required by law. If an adjuster contacts you before you reach out to an attorney, simply put the phone down and dial the number of a trusted personal injury lawyer. If they take on your case, they’ll control all communications with insurance companies on your behalf.

Regardless of what the insurance company says, do NOT give a recorded statement and NEVER admit blame for the accident. If they do contact you, give them the number of your lawyer and allow the professionals to deal with any problems instead.

Thankfully, your car accident attorney will know how to deal with insurance companies in a way that stops them from pestering you but still keeps them interested in potential negotiations. At all times, your attorney will protect your legal rights and ensure that you get a fair shot at compensation.

Negotiation

We hinted at it just now, but another way an attorney helps to deal with insurance companies is through the negotiation stage of proceedings. Often, this is where people go wrong when they don’t have legal representation. With no experience in this field, they don’t know how everything works and they don’t know the value of their claim. After getting excited by the offer, they accept something way below the potential value of the case.

Rarely do insurance companies accept claims without either a counteroffer or a rejection. The more severe the injuries, the more the insurance company will question the high value. Don’t worry, your car accident attorney will fight for a fair settlement and use their negotiation training. If this doesn’t work, they then have the resources to take the insurance company to court (even this threat is enough to push some companies into a more generous offer!).

Personal injury lawyers also gather evidence, prove damages, apportion blame, and communicate with your insurance company.