If you’ve been involved in a Denver car accident, an insurance adjuster will be involved. In this article, we’ll give you some tips about whether to communicate with them and why you should never give a recorded statement.
Insurance companies have one goal: to keep their payouts as low as possible, no matter what the circumstances of your case or how bad your injuries are.
What Is a Denver Insurance Adjuster?
Insurance adjusters are people who work for insurance companies and they manage insurance claims. Put simply, they deal with your case, investigate the details of your case, and ultimately, make the decisions on the value.
They may speak to witnesses, assess the damages you’re claiming (property and injuries), and investigate the accident – all the things your attorney would do.
Should You Speak to an Insurance Adjuster?
We advise our clients that it is fine to discuss the damage to your car and about getting a rental car. Rental car coverage may or may not be included in your policy, so you’ll need to inquire with your carrier to get the details about that. Usually, it’s an optional add-on. Aside from the general and objective facts of the accident, it’s best to stay reserved when speaking to an insurance adjuster.
But, you should never be discussing your injuries or talking about money with them without first speaking to a Denver personal injury lawyer. If an insurance adjuster is offering you money without even seeing your medical bills or records, you need to hang up and call a lawyer asap.
Remember That Insurance Companies Are Not on Your Side
Remember that insurance companies and the adjuster you speak to have one goal: to pay you as little as possible. Their job is to protect the company’s bottom line and pay you the minimum amount possible as quickly as possible. It doesn’t matter to them that doing so could mean compromising a fair payout for your damages and losses.
Get the Names and Titles of Everyone You Talk To
Make sure you know who you’re speaking to and what their title is or what position they hold in the company. Write down all of the details of your conversation because it will be useful later for your case. By taking notes, you can also be more intentional about what you say and avoid a slip-up comment that could be detrimental to your case later, and the adjuster may try to use your own statements against you. And most importantly, never agree to give a recorded statement.
Less Is More
The less you tell an insurance adjuster, the better. Keep it to the facts, and don’t over-share because you don’t have much to gain by providing information to the insurance adjuster. In fact, you have a lot to lose by telling too much to an insurance adjuster.
What they do is look for anything they can use as leverage against you and pay you less. The best way to avoid giving them potential reasons to give you less money is by simply not telling them anything beyond the facts of the case. Keep it to the details of the accidents, like the make and models of the vehicles, how the accident occurred, the weather conditions, and any other relevant details.
Stay away from discussing details of your injuries because you may not be aware of the full extent of your injuries yet. You could later discover more injuries or find out that your injury is worse than you initially thought it was. The insurance company can later try to use this against you or say you exaggerated the extent of your injuries, which is the last thing you want for your case.
If you feel like an insurance adjuster is being pushy and asking for more than you’re comfortable sharing, tell them you have an attorney (even if you haven’t hired one yet). This will put them in check – and you can also say that your attorney has advised you not to discuss the case details.
Don’t Fall Into the Settlement Trap
Insurance adjusters’ top priority is to get your case resolved quickly and for as little as possible.
They also know that by calling you right away, there’s a higher likelihood you haven’t yet hired a lawyer and don’t know the full amount of your losses. Stay ahead of them by reaching out to a Denver car accident lawyer right away who can start working on your case and will keep your best interests in mind the entire time. You’re guaranteed to get a higher payout with a lawyer than without one, and well, so don’t let an insurance adjuster push you into settling before you’ve consulted with a lawyer.
Key Facts to Remember When Speaking to an Insurance Adjuster
- Only give the necessary amount of personal information, nothing more
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You don’t need to share details about your personal life with the claims adjuster. Quite frankly, they only want to know these details to find ways to pay you less. All they need is your full name, address, phone number, and other relevant contact information. It’s okay to tell them where you work and the nature of your job, but again, it’s not necessary to go into too much detail.
Don’t talk about your hobbies, your daily routine, work schedule, or how much you make. It’s unimportant for them to know and can actually be against you later.
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- Stay away from discussing your injuries
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They will most definitely ask about your injuries, but you are not obligated to discuss any medical related information with them, or tell them about your injuries in detail.
You’re also not a doctor, so you could risk saying something incorrect or misleading if you speak too elaborately about your injuries. This could later backfire and jeopardize your claim. Just tell them that you have been and are still getting medical treatment and leave it at that.
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- If you do discuss your injuries, never downplay your injuries
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It might be difficult to know what to say and what not to say when speaking to an insurance adjuster, especially when they are asking questions with pressure.
Consult with your attorney to get a better idea of exactly what you should and should not say. One thing for sure to avoid is downplaying your injuries. Youdon’t want to over exaggerate or fib about them, but you also want to be sure you get fairly compensated for the true extent of your injury and get coverage for all the medical expenses you incurred due to the accident. It’s only fair and you deserve it.
Telling an extreme story will surely raise red flags for the adjuster and make them want to look further into your claim to find discrepancies or false allegations in your claim, so be very careful how you speak to them and what you share.
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Hire an Experienced Denver Personal Injury Attorney to Help You Negotiate a Better Settlement
For the best outcome when dealing with insurance companies, you need a skilled Denver car accident attorney. This is almost always in the best interest of the car accident injury victim who was harmed by a negligent driver. Your attorney can help accurately assess your injuries and pain by working with your doctor and getting solid proof and documentation of all your medical treatment.
If the insurance adjuster is difficult or refuses to offer a fair settlement, you have the right to a fair and unbiased hearing. Our experienced trial attorneys are ready to take your case to court if we need to, to win you the maximum payout you deserve.
Call us now, and we will get to work on your case right away; that way, you won’t have to worry about saying the ring thing to the insurance company.
We offer a free consultation, so call us now or contact us online.
