Follow These Tips on What to Do (and What Not to Do) When an Insurance Adjuster Calls After Your Nebraska Car Accident
It’s exhausting to deal with all the different details required after a car crash that wasn’t your fault—especially while you’re still recovering from your injuries. So it’s easy to let your guard down when an adjuster calls and tries to have what seems like a friendly conversation. However, it’s critical to your case to be prepared when this happens.
At Beck & Beck, our Nebraska car accident lawyers know all the tactics adjusters try to get you to provide details about the case that, no matter how factual, rarely benefit your claim. So here are suggestions for handling these calls—and when it’s better to let us take them.
6 Tips For Dealing With Insurance Adjusters After Your Car Crash
These professionals have a number of responsibilities when presented with your case. They:
- Evaluate accident claims.
- Verify details of their policyholder’s coverage.
- Collect and assess information about the accident.
- Ensure their company follows the legal standards of its contract.
- Determine the payout for the claim.
However, because an adjuster works for an insurance company, their responsibility is to uphold the insurer’s intention of offering the lowest payout possible. This is why it’s best to be diligent and prepared when an insurance adjuster calls. Here’s what we recommend.
1. Keep the Conversation Brief and Stick Only to Established Facts
There are many tactics adjusters may use to try to create inconsistencies in your case. They often try to have long conversations, be overly friendly, or engage you in small talk during your call or meeting. They might also try to get you to engage in speculation or ask hypothetical questions, but it’s critical to only stick to established facts. Be polite, but keep the conversation as brief as you can.
2. Don’t Volunteer Extra Information
If you must talk with an adjuster, only answer what they ask and don’t offer anything additional about the accident or your personal details. You’re not required to respond to any questions. You can simply say the accident is under investigation and you can’t answer the question.
3. Avoid Discussing Your Injuries or Medical Care
You’re also not required to answer questions about your injuries or medical care, and in fact, doing so has the potential to harm your case. If asked about your injuries, state that you’re under medical evaluation and receiving treatment. It’s best to avoid mentioning your pain or specific injuries.
4. Never Give an Admission of the Accident
When an insurance adjuster calls, the accident is typically still under investigation to determine liability. Injuries, adrenaline, and the chaos of an accident may blur some of your recollections. The adjuster may try to take advantage of this and ask questions that attempt to place the blame or fault on you or reduce the percentage of fault for the driver they represent. Even seemingly benign statements like “I’m sorry” or “I feel awful about what happened” can be used to harm your case and reduce or deny compensation.
5. Don’t Give Permission For Recorded or Written Statements
Since insurers are always on the lookout for inconsistencies to protect their bottom line, an adjuster may try to get as many details as possible from you that they can use to try to reduce the settlement. You’re under no obligation to provide a recorded or written statement, no matter what an adjuster might say.
6. Don’t Agree to a Quick Settlement Offer
Adjusters might try to persuade you to take compensation right away. While this might be tempting given your potential financial difficulties, you may not know the extent of your injuries, lost wages, and other damages this early on in the process. It’s to your advantage to decline and let your legal team assess all of your accident-related expenses. At Beck & Beck, we also have resources for loan-matching help that can provide some financial relief until your case is settled properly.
Here’s the Final Tip: Simply Let Nebraska Car Accident Lawyers Beck & Beck Handle These Calls
Insurance negotiations are often complicated. Adjusters are going to protect their company’s bottom line and do what’s necessary to reduce—or even deny—your claim. You don’t need to worry about what to say or what not to say: hiring our car accident attorneys takes the burden off you and lets us put our experience to work to shrewdly negotiate for the results you deserve.