When that doesn’t work, they fall back on other training – how to minimize a payout on a claim, how to talk you out of hiring an attorney, and how to bully you into accepting a settlement that doesn’t come close to what you are owed.
Insurance companies operate according to a straightforward business plan: Bring in as much money as possible in premiums, deny as many claims as possible, and keep the costs as low as possible on the claims they do pay. These companies handle tens of thousands of claims every month, so shaving $100 off even a percentage of them can save millions of dollars.
Why do Insurance Companies Deny, Limit, and Delay Claims?
It’s important to understand that the money you pay insurance companies doesn’t sit in a safe somewhere. These companies invest it, using your money to make even more money. This is why paying a claim is an exponential loss for an insurance company – they’re not just losing the money they pay out to you, they’re also losing all the profit that money would have brought in if it had stayed where it was.
Denying Your Claim Makes Money
If you are making a claim against an insurance company, they may first try to just deny the claim. For example, if you are injured as the result of another driver’s negligence, the at-fault driver’s auto insurance company may claim that their driver wasn’t at-fault.
Or, they may claim that your injuries were not the result of the accident. They may even argue that you are the one who is to blame, and therefore they should not have to pay a claim to you.
Discouraging You from Getting An Attorney Makes Money
Some adjustors may try to convince you you’re better off without an attorney. They may tell you your attorney will walk away with most of your payout or threaten to pay less money if you retain an attorney.
This is one reason why you call your SC personal injury attorney before talking to the insurance company. Just having an attorney on your side puts pressure on insurers to pay up, because they know that you are more likely to get more money when you are represented by an attorney, and they are now facing the threat of a jury trial if they do not pay…
Pressuring You into An Inadequate Settlement Makes Money
A lot of times insurers will try to bully you into accepting a low-ball offer. They’ll tell you that if you don’t accept whatever offer they make, you will miss out on any payout at all. This is not true – getting an auto accident attorney on your side will let them know that you are serious about getting maximum compensation for your claims.
Insurance companies don’t want to spend money on legal fees and court costs, and they do not want to risk a sizeable jury verdict that they could have avoided with a reasonable settlement.
They know that, without an attorney, you may not know what elements of damages you are entitled to and that you may be easily persuaded to take a small check. In most cases, if your PI lawyer is involved in the case early, insurance companies will settle before your case ends up in trial.
Delaying Makes Money
Sometimes insurance companies will fight your claim in court even when they know they will lose. First, they are hoping you might give up. But, they are also cutting their losses – the longer they can hold on to their insured’s premiums without paying your claim, the more they can make on it through investments.
SC Auto Accident Lawyers in Myrtle Beach, Conway, Columbia, and Charleston
If an insurance company has denied your claim or tried to low-ball a settlement, you can find yourself faced with mounting medical bills, missed wages, and other costs. Your Myrtle Beach personal injury lawyer at Coastal Law will meet with you and help you to make your claim against the insurance company or file a personal injury lawsuit so that you can get paid.
Call us now at (843) 488-5000 or fill out our online form to schedule a free initial consultation and review of your case.
