How to Talk to Your Insurance Company After an Accident

insurance company after car accident

Don’t Always Expect the Insurance Company to be on Your Side

After a car accident, you may feel it necessary to contact your auto insurance company or carrier and let them know what has happened immediately. While informing your carrier of an accident is an important step in getting the compensation you deserve, there are a few things you should know before you pick up the phone.

As nice as it is to believe that an insurance company is on your side, this might not always be the case. Insurance agencies are running a business, meaning their main concern will almost always be their bottom dollar. Even though you may have paid your monthly premiums, and followed up on your end of the bargain, the insurance company will likely still not be looking after your best interests. That’s why you may want to consider enlisting the help of a personal injury attorney. Their main objective is to help you get the compensation you deserve. In fact, most DC personal injury lawyers won’t see any payment until you do.

Speaking with Your Insurance Company

After an accident, you may want to follow these steps:

  • Call the police
  • Take care of injuries
  • Exchange information with the other driver
  • Document the accident
  • Report the accident to your insurance company

When you contact the insurance company, you will likely need the following information:

  • Policy information
  • Identity Verification
  • Facts about the accident
  • What property was damaged
  • If there were any injuries
  • Police report and its identification number

At this point, insurance companies will likely try and find ways to reject your accident claims or find a way to pay the least amount of money on a claim. Remember, you only have to provide the basic information at this time. Stick to the facts and avoid adding any personal opinions, or conjecture about liability; an insurance company will likely try to spin any non-factual evidence you provide to avoid paying your claim. This is also not a time to accept any offers from the insurance company for a payout. If you already have an attorney, provide the attorney’s contact information to the representative. If you don’t have an attorney, let the representative know you will be getting one. Retaining an attorney shows the insurance company that you are serious and that they cannot take advantage of you.

If you’ve been injured in an accident and are in the process of dealing with your insurance company to get the compensation you deserve, it may be in your best interest to seek the help of an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Need a Memphis Personal Injury Lawyer?

Call us at (901) 372-5003.  Our experienced Memphis injury lawyers can help you make the most of your insurance claim.

What’s a Public Adjuster? Ask the Insurance Lawyer

What’s a Public Adjuster? Ask the Insurance Lawyer

memphis insurance lawyerHave you ever heard of a public adjuster? Most people have not. When you file a claim with your homeowner’s insurance carrier, the company assigns an employee–called an “adjuster”– to investigate and handle the claim.   The adjuster’s duties might include, among other things, to visit the damage site, to take photos, to hire and analyze data from cause and origin investigators, to parse what part of your damage is covered vs. what is not covered, and to coordinate with damage estimators and/or potential contractors.

At some point, the adjuster will arrive at some plan of action to ultimately resolve your claim. This could range from supervising re-construction or repair, to simply giving you a check and letting you oversee your own repairs.

What if you disagree with the insurance company adjuster?

But what happens when you disagree with the adjuster?  What if you believe the amount you’re being offered is a low-ball offer, is based on estimates from contractors who you think aren’t “up to snuff” so to speak, or  is based on a scope of repair that you don’t believe fully remedies your problem?

What do you do?

Well, you can always call a lawyer.  That’s a given.  However, you might be better served to first consider a less “nuclear option” than going legal.   Indeed, you might first consider utilizing the services of a public adjuster.

What is a Public Adjuster?

A public adjuster is a licensed professional who works exclusively for the public as a counterweight to the in-house adjuster who is employed by your insurance company.

Need an Insurance Lawyer?

If you have an insurance claim that you’ve been unable to resolve, call us at (901) 372-5003 or email us here.  Do not delay. There are deadlines in insurance policies that you don’t want to miss. Visit out website to learn more about us.