Dealing with the Insurance Company

Every insurance company markets itself as your partner. It makes funny commercials or sponsors highway assistance programs so that you think that the insurance company has your best interest in mind. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t. The insurance company wants to make you feel all warm and fuzzy about your relationship so you buy your insurance from them. Sadly, it’s not until you actually need the insurance that you realize that the insurance company is not going to be on your side.

If they’ve been in a car accident, most people’s first calls (after 911) will be to their insurance company. They want to report the accident to the insurance company as quickly as possible so that they can get their car fixed or schedule a rental while their car is in the shop.

Be careful. The insurance company will try to use this initial conversation to gather as much information as possible and then use it against you later. Therefore, we always advise our clients that when they call the insurance company to talk about the car damage, they refuse to answer questions about their injuries.

Many insurance companies will ask for a recorded statement. This is when an insurance adjuster will ask you questions about the accident and your injuries while recording the conversation. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GIVE A RECORDED STATEMENT. There is nothing in your insurance contract that says you have to do it.

Giving a recorded statement most likely won’t help your case. The details of the case are probably obvious to the insurance company. They just want to give you a chance to say something that can be twisted and used against you.

Insurance companies will also periodically check in to look for updates. This is because the insurance company needs to set up a proper “reserve.” What that means is that when an insurance company knows that someone will make a claim, they will set money aside to pay for that claim. In order to figure out how much money to set aside, they need information about injuries, treatment, and lost wages. An experienced attorney knows how to talk to the insurance company and give them what they need while not saying something that will undermine the case later.

Dealing with the insurance means proving every element of your case. You have to prove that the other person was at fault. You have to prove how much your medical bills are, how much your lost wages were, and how much pain and suffering you experienced. An experienced lawyer will be able to get all the necessary documents to prove every penny of your medical bills and lost wages. That attorney will also be able to use your medical records to describe how your injury affected your life.

Most importantly, an experienced attorney will be able to dispute all the phony arguments that insurance companies come up with. Insurance companies will dispute the amount of medical bills, they will reduce your lost wages because of taxes, and will point to things in medical records that say your injury wasn’t that bad.

At Marcotte Law Firm, we’ve dealt with insurance companies for decades. We know all the tricks. We don’t let the insurance company pay you anything less than full compensation.

If you’ve been injured, call the experienced injury attorneys at Marcotte Law Firm for a free consultation.