Having an insurance attorney by your side to fight for you is the best way to scare an insurance adjuster, given your tendency to deal calmly and politely.
Attorneys are experts at handling these claims and can offer you plenty of useful advice regarding your rights and options. In addition, they are equipped with all the necessary tools that can help you get a satisfactory claim payout – without going through all the hassles. In the recent times, Wites law firm recovered $41,257 in a hurricane IRMA home damage case, while the insurer was refusing to pay anything at all. Attorneys, indeed, are best to scare insurance adjusters.
An average American claims for serious accidents or damage to property and persons once every 18 years. You probably have had the experience of a car insurance adjuster trying to lowball your claim. On one hand, it’s not fair. But on the other, it’s a valuable learning experience that can help you protect your finances in the future.
What is the point of scaring insurance adjusters?
Okay, first of all, what do insurance adjusters do? They are professionals who help determine the amount that their respective companies need to pay to their policyholders. More than 50% of Americans overestimate the cost of life insurance by 300%, hence, it is only normal for the insurance adjusters to have a doubt on the claim you believe to be fair. They are not against you, but when it comes to accident claims, they have a lot of factors to consider.
For instance, they need to look into if you’re at fault or not. Or if you were not able to seek immediate medical care after the accident happened – and instead waited for days or even weeks! And then there’s the matter of how much money is available in your policy.
But sometimes, you have to fight for your rights! That’s when you might be thinking of scaring insurance adjusters, to get fair treatment and fair pay. You may find them surprisingly trying to suck off as much details about accidents like your medical records. And insurance adjusters are not supposed to do that without your consent. But sometimes, they try to sneak in these details – without intending to inform you.
It has already been established that an individual insurance adjuster can be sued for misrepresentation. For example, the California Court of Appeal recognized for the first time in Bock v. Hansen (2014) 225 Cal.App.4th 215, that an insurance adjuster may be sued for negligent misrepresentation for falsely characterizing the scope of coverage during loss adjustment. Previously, courts routinely dismissed such claims on the basis that an adjuster owed no duty of care to an insured.
There are things you may not want to say
When you came forward to make your claim, you probably gave them the details of your accident. But now that they have all the facts, they tend to drag their feet in the final settlement procedure. And with time, their numbers come down – like magic! That’s why it’s not unusual for you to be shocked when checking on the final amount offered as settlement.
As mentioned earlier, an insurance adjuster could well use the details provided against you in lowering your claims. That’s why it’s not advisable to give them any over-information you do not want the world to know about – including your medical records.
Of course, if you’re in a hurry to settle or if there are other injuries that are minor and not as serious as yours, you may want to mention them during the negotiations.
You may also feel that you should explain all your injuries to make sure the insurers understand how devastating your accident really was. There is nothing wrong with explaining them – but only after the insurer presents its own evidence and notes.
You are not going to tell them that it’s because someone else caused the accident and it was an act of God or an act of God, like a tornado, earthquake or hurricane. They call that being “safer” than they do.
What should you do to scare insurance adjusters?
As September 2022, there are over 132,106 claims adjusters currently employed in the United States. 54.9% of all claims adjusters are women, while 45.1% are men. The average age of an employed claims adjuster is 44 years old.
Blanchflower in 2021 found that in the dozens of richer countries included in his study, the absolute low point of happiness is at 47.2 years.
While dealing with any mid or late-forties insurance adjusters, you need to consider that people in this age group are happy when they get to make new friends and maintain a positive outlook.
In reality, an honest insurance adjuster wouldn’t bother with such nonsense. But on the ground, there are some dishonest ones as well, who just won’t accept reality.
In addition, calculation adjusters use a variety of techniques and math to decide an offer. For example, they may offer to replace your damaged possessions with similar items from a certain store. It is important to call them out on every piece of BS they throw your way. These are some of the things you can talk about when you’re dealing with insurance adjusters.
Scaring them in a polite way, here are some options:
Ask them if they are aware of the current rate that the government offers on insurance. For example, remind them that the median annual wage for claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators was $65,080 in May 2021.
Tell them that you will be adding and subtracting rates in the future, depending on how much money they offer in settlement.
If you get a rude response, ask them if they would mind be more generous with their settlement amount at the end of the negotiations – before there is any further evidence as to what your claim is worth.
“What’s more important-a medical record or good health? Insurance adjusters don’t think much of your physical health. ” That’s not just some lawyer saying it; it’s a fact.
Politely ask them if they know what everyone does at the end of negotiations. Say, “We check on other insurance claims and look for discounts.”
If you feel that the insurance adjuster is not listening to your side of the story, get a few other witnesses and have them take notes of what they say, as well as give their opinion on your claim.
If they drag their feet, ask them why they believe you should settle for real money – the actual cost amount – rather than some discount amount someone else got out of the company. Ask them if they are aware that you have known some people to settle for $1 just to shut up those who kept banging their heads against walls!
Hiring an attorney is the best option
Of course, you can hire an attorney to do some of these things for you. But if you choose to take the step by yourself, make sure that the way you talk will be convincing enough to make them reconsider their ways.
And remember, no one can force you to settle with them. So if they try to lowball your claim, let them know in a polite manner that they can do whatever they want. It’s your claim and it’s your money. And nothing less than what the settlement amount should be!
The best option, again, is probably hiring an attorney to handle everything for you. This way, you will not have to worry about anything and will be able to concentrate on getting better in the future.
Conclusion
You need to be prepared ahead of time. The fact is that insurance-related frauds do happen, therefore it is not really a surprise when you get a scenario to “pay” negotiations to get a fair claim. You should know a bit about how insurance companies approach making claims payouts, and how they will respond to different types of questions, statements and tactics.