If you were hurt in a recent car accident, you may be wondering what you can do next to help your recovery and best interests, particularly if insurance companies are involved. If you were seriously injured in a vehicle collision by another driver, then this means you probably had to notify your insurance company about what happened. While you may think you are taking due diligence by informing your agent, you have to remember that insurance companies are still for profit. So when you are contacted by a claims adjuster in the days to follow about your claim, you’ll want to be wary of what exactly you share.
Don’t Offer More Than Basic Details
Insurance adjusters have been trained to seem friendly, but they are certainly not your friends. These people represent the profit and interests of the insurance company, and not you. Therefore, only give them basic personal details, such as your phone number, name, and address. As your car accident lawyer from David & Philpot, P.L. may suggest, you could give them information about your occupation, however, don’t go into more detail about other areas of your life.
Don’t Talk About Your Injuries
An insurance adjuster will be looking for easy ways to reduce or deny your claim. So when they ask about your injuries in detail, do not discuss this with them until you are aware of the full extent of your injuries and potential for recovery. It is possible that you sustained injuries that you are yet to be privy to, and an injury you know about now may be more severe than you originally thought. Tell the adjuster that you are receiving treatment for injuries, and leave it at that.
Don’t Talk About Accident Details
You may think that you have to tell the insurance adjuster everything about what happened, but it’s actually the contrary. Avoid talking about the accident in detail. Do not offer any information apart from where and when the incident occurred, the cars involved, witness contacts, and other essential facts. An adjuster may prompt you to give your opinion on the case, but do not volunteer answers like these and stick to facts only. If the adjuster presses you further, simply state that the investigation is still underway.
Don’t Permit The Adjuster To Record
A claims adjuster may inquire if it’s okay to record you while you provide a statement. This is a frequently used tactic so insurance companies can use a claimant’s words against them. Even the most honest claimant may get mixed up in what they say, due to the nature of how an adjuster asks certain questions. An insurance adjuster may attempt to convince you that you have to give them a recorded statement to get coverage, but this is not true. The intention of a recorded statement is to get you to make statements that are inconsistent, then minimize how much they pay you. Or, they may use your statements to deny your claim entirely.