Although undesirable, car accidents are everyday events on roads. And, when involved in a car crash, you can sustain severe injuries, succumb to death, or have your car damaged.
If you’re lucky to survive a car accident, you may want to seek compensation for the damage you might have suffered. You can achieve that by contacting your insurance company. However, you’ll need the help of a car accident lawyer when going through this process.
Working With A Car Accident Lawyer
Subscribing to insurance companies is believed to be one of the best strategies to safeguard one against damage in a car accident. However, sometimes, claiming compensation might not be a sweet experience, especially since most insurance companies will find ways to minimize the amount of compensation you can receive
While that’s the case, you can work with a lawyer to ensure you get compensation in a car accident case. The hired solicitor will ensure your rights are guaranteed.
A lawyer will also negotiate for a better settlement on your behalf. However, you must ensure you select the right legal service provider. Major factors to consider when choosing an attorney include qualifications, experience, availability, fees charged, credibility, etc. You may click here for more information about car accident lawyers.
Bad Faith Car Accident Insurance Tactics
Bad faith tactics refer to strategies employed by some insurance companies to avoid becoming liable to their policyholders. The primary purpose of these evil tactics is to avoid compensating their members for damage caused by a car accident.
Here are tactics to monitor to help you determine or conclude that your insurance company is acting in bad faith:
- Denying Compensation Without Giving A Valid Reason
As noted earlier, working with an insurance company could be the best strategy to receive compensation after being involved in a car accident. However, compensation isn’t always guaranteed, especially when you fail to provide adequate evidence for the accident.
No insurance company will compensate you if you fail to provide enough evidence. As a rule of thumb, the insurance company should explain why they denied your claim. This can be inadequate evidence, or, maybe, the cause of the accident isn’t covered by your insurance policy.
You must be worried about any insurance company denying your car accident claim without a valid reason. That’s a sign of bad faith. That said, you may want to seek advice from your lawyer on the next course of action.
- Offering Less Compensation Than You Deserve
Like most other businesses, insurance policies are profit-making organizations. For that reason, they’ll do all they can to minimize costs. One of them is offering less compensation to their policyholders.
You’ve got a right to receive full compensation from your insurance company after a car accident. If that doesn’t happen, that company must be acting in bad faith and not interested in your wellbeing. Don’t accept compensation that you believe is less than what you deserve.
Sometimes, determining the value of your car accident claim might not be easy. This is especially true if you haven’t been in a similar situation in the past. However, having the right lawyer as your companion can help correctly value your case. This enables you to negotiate for a better settlement with the insurance company.
- Making Threatening Statements
Making threatening statements is another sign to show your insurance company is acting in bad faith. This may occur, especially when you continuously ask for your compensation. The reason why an insurance company would make threatening statements is to force you to stop bothering them.
It’s illegal for any insurance company to threaten its members. And, if that happens to you, the best idea could be to report them to the nearest police station. Security officers should take legal action against any insurance company threatening its policyholders seeking car accident compensation.
- Failing To Investigate Your Claim
After getting into a car accident, you should immediately take the step of calling your insurance company. The insurance company has a duty to conduct a thorough investigation into what caused the accident.
However, most insurance companies don’t investigate the root cause of a specific accident. They actually depend on the other party’s side of the story to make a decision. If your insurance company acts in such a manner and doesn’t investigate your case, you can have a bad faith claim against it.
Takeaway
Sometimes, getting car accident compensation from an insurance company can be complex. But, by monitoring the signs of bad faith and working with a lawyer, as explained in this article, hopefully, you can prepare well enough to maximize your car accident claim.