When you’re hurt in an auto accident and have serious injuries, one of the things you’ll do is make an insurance claim. You might try to claim against your own insurance or look into making a claim against the other party’s insurance.
Problematically, some insurance carriers do have tactics that they try to use to get you to drop or reduce your own claim. They may also take steps to try to get you to settle, too, even though they know the value of your claim may be higher.
Some of these tactics are done in bad faith and can hurt you more after suffering injuries in an auto accident. Here are a few examples.
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Offering a low-ball settlement
It’s typical to receive a low settlement offer to begin with, but if the settlement offer is truly insulting and the agent claims it can’t be increased, that’s when you’ll want to consider negotiating with your attorney’s help.
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Delaying your claim
Another thing some insurance carriers do is delay. Sometimes, they push the investigation as long as it will go or try to seek extensions that put people in difficult situations. That’s unfair to you, and your attorney can take steps to prevent delays from slowing down your claim.
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Refusing your claim unfairly
Finally, sometimes insurance companies will refuse or deny a claim even when it should have been approved. For example, you could have real costs related to injuries from a crash, but your claim could be denied because the carrier claims that the policy doesn’t cover certain medical expenses or situations.
These are a few examples of bad faith insurance tactics that you should know about. While these are less common in personal injury cases filed against other parties, you should still be aware of them in case you make a claim against your own insurance carriers.
If you run into problems when seeking support, it’s helpful to get to know your legal rights. By having someone on your side, you’ll be able to protect your right to make your claim and appeal any decisions that negatively impact you.