Insurance companies are good at marketing their unbelievably attractive coverages. This is to lure the common folk into paying premiums. But when the time comes to pay, insurance companies turn into some of the most miserly beings in existence. Their offers will be nowhere close to the actual compensation you deserve.
Giving in to the pressure and accepting their low compensation is never an acceptable solution.
An expert attorney can help you fight insurance companies. They have the expertise required to tackle these stingy organizations.
Immediately after an insurance company receives a compensation claim, they will send an agent to look into the claim. This agent, called the insurance adjuster, will investigate the case. This is done to prevent insurance fraud.
Once the investigation is done, the insurance adjuster will start calculating damages.
This is where the trouble begins.
If they pay the deserved amount, the insurance company loses a lot of money, which is bad for business. The insurance adjuster knows this. They will resort to a strategy known as the 3 Ds.
So what do the Ds stand for?
- Delay
- Deny
- Defend
The section below discusses each of these elements in detail.
Delay
This is the first strategy the insurance company will use to avoid paying up.
The days after an accident are difficult for the victim. They have plenty of bills piling up on top of the injuries they’re recovering from. They’ll submit a claim, expecting speedy compensation.
This is the point where the insurance companies show their true colors.
They do everything possible to delay the claim. They may come up with reasons like that you submitted the wrong form or that you didn’t fill out the necessary details. They will come up with completely unfair reasons to drag on the claim.
This delaying will go on until the victim gives up and accepts the low compensation offered by the insurance company.
Deny
If the victim is persistent and doesn’t bow down to the delaying tactics, the insurance company uses the next strategy. Deny.
An insurance company will use everything within its means to deny a claim. This could include
- Intentional misinterpretation of policy language
- Shifting blame to the victim
- Downplaying the victim’s injuries
- Referring to non-existing parts of the agreement
The objective here is to keep denying the claim until the victim gives in. In some cases, the mounting bills and injuries often force the victim to agree to the poor compensation offered.
Defend
This is the last trick in their book.
Once delay and deny fail, they’ll start vigorously defending their claim.
This is done by forcing the victim to go to court.
Usually, personal injury cases move to court when there’s assurance of higher compensation for the victim. But the problem with court trials is that they are painfully long. Cases can last anywhere from a few months to a few years.
This is the reason why insurance companies push for a court trial. The delay in receiving compensation is beneficial for them.
There’s another reason as well.
If the victim’s claim is one-of-a-kind, accepting it would set a precedent. This means that the insurance company will have to follow the same procedure for all similar cases in the future.
How to Tackle them
The 3Ds are used by insurance companies to reduce payments to victims who are in distress. But there is one person who can manage them.
A lawyer.
You need the services of a lawyer to counter the evil tactics of the insurance company. A lawyer has the expertise required to tackle insurance companies.
Additionally, they’ll make sure you get fair compensation for your losses. Nothing can go wrong with a lawyer by your side.
If you’re injured in an accident, don’t waste your time. Get immediate medical attention and consult a lawyer.
