After a Mississippi automobile accident, an insurance claims adjuster from the other driver’s insurance company may contact you on behalf of the other driver. The adjuster might request that you provide a recorded statement or ask you to sign a release authorizing the disclosure of your medical or employment records. The adjuster will justify such requests by telling you that the information is needed to evaluate your claim. The adjuster may even offer you what the insurance company claims is a “fair settlement.”
Car accident injury victims should never agree to anything an insurance adjuster offers without first obtaining legal advice. It also is not advisable to give the insurance company access to any of your private information without consulting an experienced Mississippi personal injury attorney. The adjuster may seem friendly and appear to be trying to help you resolve your claim. However, the insurance adjuster’s job is to save the insurance company money by finding a basis to deny your claim or to settle the claim for far less than its actual value. Insurance adjusters routinely make lowball offers to increase insurance company profits.
The average Mississippi auto accident victim typically will not know how to accurately value an auto collision claim without legal advice from an attorney. The insurance adjuster recognizes that knowledge is power. It is very common for an insurance company to extend a lowball settlement offer if the liability of its policyholder is clear, and it’s obvious that you suffered injury.
The insurance adjuster will try to settle the claim before you have a chance to have an attorney evaluate the claim and provide an accurate estimate of potential damages, especially those that are hard for the average layperson to quantify, such as pain and suffering, diminished enjoyment of life, and permanent disability. The adjuster also knows that some injuries do not immediately manifest themselves and that a thorough examination by a doctor might make you aware of more serious injuries. The goal is to settle the case before you have obtained this type of information from legal and medical professionals.
A common trick employed by insurance adjusters is to claim that you only suffered minor or no injures because of the limited damage to your vehicle. The adjuster will characterize your Mississippi car crash as a “low impact” collision. The adjuster will offer you a settlement to repair your vehicle and agree to pay nominal medical expenses. The adjuster might even act magnanimous and ask if you need a rental car while your vehicle is being repaired. The adjuster knows that you might be under financial pressure to get back to work and pay medical expenses. The insurance adjuster will use this financial pressure to try to get you to settle your auto accident claim before the seriousness of your injuries or your right to more substantial damages becomes apparent.
Car crash victims should always keep in mind that an adjuster’s job is to protect the insurance company by settling the claim for as little as possible. At Barrett Law, we have a wealth of experience with the tactics used by insurance companies to minimize the value claims and to avoid liability all together. If you are involved in a Mississippi auto accident, you should not speak to the other driver’s insurance company until you have obtained legal advice. The knowledgeable and experienced team of Mississippi Auto Accident Lawyers at our Mississippi car accident law firm offers a free initial consultation so that we can evaluate your claim. Contact the qualified Barrett Law, PLLC today at (601)790-1505 to schedule your free consultation.
