If you’ve been involved in a car, truck or motorcycle accident, the insurance policies carried by you and the other driver are two potential sources of compensation for your injuries and vehicle damage. But the insurance companies have financial incentives not to make the claims process easy or fast.
Why You Need Insurance Company Cooperation
After an accident, you’ll want assistance and cooperation from the insurance companies right away.
- You may have injuries that require immediate treatment (which means you need money to pay medical bills).
- You may be losing wages because injuries prevent you from working (which means you need money to pay your normal household expenses).
- You need to get your car or motorcycle fixed (which means you need help paying mechanics and a body shop).
Why Insurance Companies Don’t Want to Cooperate
But the insurance adjusters don’t work for you – they work for the insurance companies. And their goal isn’t to quickly provide you with the maximum amount of compensation. The adjuster’s job is to save his insurance company money by:
- Minimizing the amounts paid to you; and
- Delaying those payments as long as he can.
The easiest way for an insurance company to achieve these two goals is by giving you the runaround.
What Does Insurance Company Runaround Look Like?
Insurance company runaround can take many forms but the classic signs include:
- Not answering or returning your phone calls
- Taking a long time to provide you with basic information or required forms
- Repeatedly asking for the same information or facts about the accident
- Asking to record a statement from you about the accident
- “Losing” forms and other information you’ve already provided
- Denying coverage for your claim or taking a long time to acknowledge the validity of your claim and entitlement to coverage
- Refusing to make advance payments for medical expenses and lost wages
- Making lowball settlement offers
- Not accurately informing you of your insurance coverage and your rights under the policy
How Can a Phoenix Accident Lawyer Help?
An experienced personal injury law firm like Hirsch & Lyon Accident Law can stop the runaround and quickly get your claims resolved and your compensation paid.
- We understand insurance policies. Policies are long, complicated legal documents. We can advise you about your rights under the policy and force the adjusters to comply with its terms.
- We handle the forms, phone calls and other paperwork. Policies require you to submit information in a timely manner to make a claim. Our staffers can organize everything you need, submit it to the adjuster and follow-up to speed the process along.
- We know the adjusters. We’ve worked with certain adjusters for years on hundreds of cases. These long-standing working relationships can make the claims process easier and quicker.
- We know what your claim is worth. We’ve handled thousands of claims and know the difference between a fair offer and a lowball offer. We’ll get you the compensation you deserve.
- We know when insurance companies are acting in bad faith. Certain insurance company behavior isn’t just annoying – it’s against the law. Our knowledge of Arizona’s bad faith law can prevent unethical insurance company conduct.
If you or someone you care about is getting the runaround from an insurance company after an accident, we encourage you to call an accident lawyer at Hirsch & Lyon Accident Law immediately. Our firm offers free case evaluations and we will answer your call 24/7. We are here to help you.