One of the biggest mistakes you can make after a car accident is talking to the other party’s insurance adjuster.
Why? Because insurance adjusters aren’t there to process claims and pay accident victims the money they need to recover. Instead, their job is to decide just how much liability the company really has. Since the company is their employer, guess whose interests they want to protect? Talking with an insurance adjuster on your own is loaded with danger.
How do insurance adjusters minimize your claims?
Insurance adjusters are pros with tons of experience, and they know exactly what it takes to devalue a claim. Here’s why you never want to speak to an insurance adjuster on your own:
- They’re good at making you think you don’t need representation. You can generally expect an insurance adjuster to sound friendly, sympathetic and very concerned about your injuries. The goal is to encourage you to think that they’ll play fair – so that you don’t seek legal representation.
- They want to lock you into a narrative that’s hard to change. You may not really know how serious your injuries are for quite a while. For example, a back injury that you think will heal after a few days’ rest can hide slipped discs and turn into a chronic condition. An insurance adjuster may hope to get you on tape, however, saying that your injury “isn’t that serious.”
- They know you don’t know how to value your own claim. Insurance adjusters know how much a claim is worth, but the average person does not. They often use that to their advantage to offer quick, low-ball settlements that save their companies money.
If you’ve been injured in a wreck, and you know the other driver is at fault, don’t talk to the other party’s insurance adjuster without a buffer. Experienced legal guidance can help you get the compensation you need to recover your losses.
