After a car accident, the worst thing that could happen to you is to argue with your car insurance company. Moreover, this claim settlement argument would probably be the last thing you would want to do after the recent loss you have faced. May it be financial, emotional, physical, or anything else.
You might even discover that your car insurance will not cover the medical expenses, or your car insurance completely. Further, it is very normal for any insurance carrier to pay you the least amount possible by twisting words you won’t even understand.
What to Do in Case a Legal Issue With the Insurance Company Arises?
Let us first note down the points that you should keep in mind while you contact your insurer after a car accident.
Consult car accident lawyer
Hiring a lawyer is the best thing to do because insurance companies mostly try to twist and turn and play with technical terms that common people don’t understand. Don’t keep anything on record with your insurance provider, they can use any word you say or anything you do against you. There are several reasons to get a car accident attorney clearwater. The best thing to be safe is to hire an insurance dispute lawyer before any interaction with the car insurance company.
Read insurer terms and conditions
The insurance company will not take the blame, they will always try to blame you for any accident that occurred. Insurers will cleverly tell you that in your particular scenarios, they can’t provide you with insurance because that is against their terms and conditions. Therefore try to memorize all the terms and conditions of the car insurance beforehand and be prepared for anything you may encounter while arguing with them.
Lowball offer from an insurance company
Don’t settle for the car insurance lowball settlement. Car insurance companies will try their best to settle the dispute with a low amount of money, stating various false reasons for offering you that amount. Plus, they will make it look like it is the best amount you will get and you should settle for it. This, in reality, is mostly false. You must learn to negotiate and refuse a low-price offer.
Handle an unreasonable offer
You might be wondering how to reject and respond to a low insurance settlement offer. Analyze the offer, ask questions, and make your claim. Never settle with the first amount they offer you. This is because the insurance company would generally keep the first settlement offer very low. Insurance companies will try their best to provide you with the lowest amount of money. They usually think that just after an accident you are mentally disturbed so luring you into anything is easy. Don’t fall into that trap.
Car Insurance Company will Deny your claim
The car insurance company will do anything to disprove your insurance claim, including telling you that the injuries you have faced were from an earlier incident. Just to cut off the medical insurance expenses they ought to provide.
Car Insurers will ignore your medical conditions
To cut the financial assistance they have to offer, car insurers may also ignore your health situation. They can claim that your medical problems are not serious. Insurers can further argue that you can work if you want to and are choosing not to.
Car Insurance companies know that if you hire an insurance dispute lawyer, they will drag the issue in the court without hesitation. Trust us, no company in this world likes to be dragged into court. Insurance Companies will do anything to avoid that. They might even increase the amount of money they first offered you.
What does car insurance compensate for?
Car insurance companies offer you much more than just medical expenditures and automobile repairs; in the event of a death or serious medical problems, you may even be eligible for compensation.
- If you face permanent physical damage, you will be provided with surgery help, appointments, and much more.
- If the accident causes you to rest and you can’t go to work, you can also be compensated with the financial loss for the time being.
- You will also get your personal belongings repaired or replaced if those were with you at the time of the accident.
Insurance companies will try their best to convince you to not take any legal help or contact an attorney. They will often try to convince you that yours is a very simple accident case and that the money they are offering is the exact amount people usually get. They might even tell you that their settlement money is greater than what people get. Don’t get influenced by car insurance fault claims. Hire a lawyer if you need to. They will understand the case clearly.
Steps of a car insurance settlement claim
The next question you want an answer to is how long does it take for an insurance claim to be settled? Because your insurance company might fool you into a long wait. It’s better to know by yourself how much time it takes to settle car insurance claims.
Now let’s take a brief note of how long it takes to claim your car insurance.
- Firstly, a car insurance dispute clearwater personal injury lawyer will review your case, your medical records, injuries, and everything. This documentation process may consume a large chunk of your time.
- Then, the attorney will send the car insurance company an offer from your side. This will include your case and the amount you are willing to settle for.
- Now, the car insurance company may accept it or deny it. They rarely accept your offer on the first go.
- If the insurance company rejects your offer, you may also take legal action. Or you can even accept the offer they are providing you.
- If you accept the amount your insurance company offered you, then the car accident attorney will check every documented detail and then the car insurance settlement will occur.
- A check will be issued to your car insurance attorney. This process can take around 2 or 3 weeks to get cleared.
- Once the check is cleared, the attorney will cut his/her service fees, pay your medical dues (if any are left), settle up with your car insurance, and then he/she will pay you the remaining balance.
- Finally, the compensation you were fighting for will be deposited in your bank account.
If in case your car insurance company is not listening to your offer or taking too long to settle your claim, you can contact the state’s insurance office and ask for help. Also, keep in mind that if any death occurs during the car accident, the insurance company ought to provide you with every expense for their services and even compensatory money. Once received, It’s your property and you can use it as you wish.
These are a few things you must note down so that if anything happens in the future, you don’t fall under the false accusations of the car insurance companies or fall prey to their tactics. It is crucial to have a basic knowledge of all these legal details. Even if you hire a car accident lawyer/ Clearwater motorcycle accident lawyer, having prior knowledge of how everything works in insurance companies could be of great help to you.