Last Update: 02/01/16
Just like death and taxes, if you are in a Florida car accident then you will have to deal with an insurance adjuster. For those who are hurt in a car crash, then you have to deal with the adjuster from your own insurance company.
Then there is the adjuster from the company who issued a policy on the driver in the other car (or truck or SUV or bus or other motor vehicle) in the accident. That adjuster will be sizing up things for the claims made on that other driver’s policy.
Auto Insurance Policy Adjusters Deal With Accident Claims All the Time. It’s Their Job.
For most people, being in a car crash or traffic accident that is serious enough to cause injuries to people (as well as to the vehicles themselves) is something that happens rarely — once or twice in a lifetime. However, while that accident is a Life Altering Experience for the victims of the crash, it’s just another day on the job for the Florida Insurance Adjuster.
Your accident is simply another file on his or her desk. Adjusting claims is the work that they do.
And they are trained in how to handle claims by their employers as well as having on the job experience that can go back several years. They will know things about motor vehicle accidents that you have never even considered, since car accidents are not something that you come across in your daily life.
Auto Insurance Policy Adjusters Want to Save Money – For the Insurance Company.
The goal of insurance adjusters in working on a Florida car accident claim is not to make sure that the person who has been hurt gets their needs met – if they have been seriously injured in a crash and have severe bodily injuries, that is not the concern of the adjuster.
The adjuster is trained to approach a claim from a money angle. They will be approaching things in order to pay out as little as possible on your claim. Doesn’t matter if that’s fair or not. It’s the bottom line that they consider.
Why? The insurance company must pay out as little money in claims each year in order to make as much revenue as it can that year. Revenue comes from policy premiums; every dollar paid in a claim is deducted from that total revenue amount.
The successful claims adjuster in his insurance company is going to be the adjuster who understands the math and helps to keep that revenue money in the company pot and out of the claimant’s pocket.
Common Ways that Insurance Adjusters Try to Keep Florida Claims Payment as Low as Possible
There are literally hundreds of ways that savvy insurance adjusters use to get their job done. One is to call and get a recorded statement while the injured people are still reeling from the accident, in hopes that they can record something being said that can be used to limit or deny the claim later. (See our earlier post on that issue.)
Other tactics used all the time by adjusters to keep claims down include:
- Questioning why you took the time you did to go see a doctor (suggesting that you’re not hurt that bad)
- Questioning how fast the cars were going at the time of the crash (suggesting that the crash wasn’t that serious)
- Questioning how you can work if you’re asking for coverage on an injury (regardless of the fact that injured or not, you have to put bread on the table).
The best thing that you can do if you have serious injuries in a Florida car crash is get an experienced personal injury lawyer to deal with these insurance adjusters for you. Injury lawyers – especially those in South Florida – know the lingo and understand the tactics of these adjusters because they deal with them as part of the job of defending injured people against insurance company representatives.
Florida personal injury lawyers will work with their clients on fees and expenses — most personal injury cases are contingent, for example (the lawyer isn’t paid till you are in settlement or trial award). Having one of these experts on your side helps level the playing field when you are dealing with the professional adjuster.
What Should You Do?
A good piece of advice if you have been contacted by an insurance adjuster, is to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer to learn about some of the issues that can arise with a claim, including the type of evidence needed to prove a claim and the type and amount of damages you can recover. Most personal injury lawyers, like Alan Sackrin, will offer a free initial consultation (over the phone or in person) to answer your questions.
Related:
- 5 Things You Should Know About Car Insurance Adjusters When You Have A Car Accident Claim
- The Problem of Phony Public Adjusters in Florida: Fake Public Insurance Adjusters in Florida Commit a Felony, Hurt Unsuspecting Floridians Needing Help After an Accident or Injury
- Are Florida Insurance Adjusters On Your Side?: Beware of the Denied Claim, the Low Ball Claim and the Recorded Statement.
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Do you have questions or comments? Then please feel free to send Alan an email or call him now at (954) 458-8655.
