The time after an accident can be traumatizing, leaving you confused. Because many accident victims are disoriented from intense pain and are not familiar with the legal processes, some organizations and people take advantage of them. Unfortunately, people trust insurance companies that are sometimes involved in bad practices that are aimed at avoiding paying financial settlements entitled to accident victims. This article will explain some of the tricks insurance companies use on accident victims.
Insurance companies ask for a statement
There are various tricks insurance companies use on accident victims. Often, insurance companies ask the accident victims to provide a statement regarding their injuries and damages. When doing this, they convince the victims that by making an early statement it may lead to the faster claim process. However, you should remember that insurance personnel are well-trained and know that by giving such a statement, you can give an incorrect statement that will reduce your chances of getting a full financial settlement.
Their aim is for you to accept partial fault and overlook your injuries, especially when you are yet to have a full medical examination of the injuries you sustained. Most such statements are recorded using a tape recorder so that they can use them at trial, if required, to undermine your claims.
They claim to be on your side
Insurance personnel and claim adjusters try to pretend to be on your side by convincing you that they are doing everything possible to get you paid as quickly as possible. But they use this strategy to gain your trust. For example, they might release minor amounts of money to have your car fixed while you’re still receiving medical treatment for your injuries.
Mind you, medical expenses are usually higher than car repair ones. Besides, the adjuster can also visit you to check your wellbeing and ask if you need anything else from them. Worse still, they might even ask for tape-recorded statements to be analyzed by the insurance company.
You may be wondering how this affects you? Well, the aim of doing this is to please you long enough so that the statute of limitations should elapse. You see, depending on the state where the accident occurred, accident claims are supposed to be filed before three years to prevent the statute of limitations.
Therefore, by giving you small amounts of money, you might think the insurance company is on your side and that they are ready to wait to allow you to discover the full extent of your injuries. Unfortunately, this is not true because when the statute of limitations expires, you are bound to lose the right to sue them. The worst part is that even the small amounts of money they were giving you will immediately stop.
Social media tactic
With the popularity of social media platforms, insurance companies are also using them to track the activities of accident victims. They are interested to see if you will post anything about the accident, especially if you’re going to admit any form of liability. Aside from this, the insurance company tries to discover if you’re participating in any activities that are not in line with the extent of your injuries.
As a result, insurance companies check on your videos and photos you took while involved in parties, sports, or any other physical activities. Regardless of any good explanation like taking a photo at a sports event while using heavy pain killers, such activities can damage your claim.