How insurance companies try to avoid their responsibilities

You pay for car insurance because it is a legal requirement and to protect yourself. The liability you incur while driving could be financially devastating for you. Your insurance coverage helps protect you from those risks by paying for people’s medical care, property damage and unearned wages after car crashes.

You know that you can make an insurance claim after a crash, whether you need medical coverage yourself or protection from liability after a crash. Unfortunately, insurance companies will go to great lengths to reduce how much they have to pay on valid claims.

They try to trick people into admitting fault

The bigger the claim, the more likely it is the insurance company will want to limit its liability. Requiring a recorded statement from a claimant or someone involved in a crash is a common insurance company policy.

Someone from the company asks questions and may try to slowly guide or trick someone into implicating themselves. If a driver with a large claim admits partial responsibility for a crash, the insurance company may use their admission or miscommunication to limit what they pay on the claim.  

They offer a law settlement when they know people are desperate

If it’s been several weeks since the crash and you haven’t gone back to work, you need income as soon as possible. Insurance companies know that people endure financial hardship after crashes and may try to use that to their advantage.

Offering a settlement that is far lower than the total amount of coverage available can absolve the insurance company of its future responsibilities to that claimant. Simply put, they take advantage of those who need medical coverage and wage replacement by tricking them into accepting less than their claim is worth.

They fight or try to minimize valid claims

Insurance companies have a legal obligation to pay valid claims in good faith. Unfortunately, the desire for profit can push many individual insurance workers and companies did you bad faith insurance practices. Denying claims just to avoid paying them out is unfair to the policyholder or claim it. The same is true of unreasonable fillets and unfairly low payouts.

Understanding how insurance companies can try to take advantage of you after a crash can help you fight for what you deserve.