1. Auto insurance companies are profit-driven. Their goal is to maximize their profitability. The insurance adjuster owes allegiance to their management, not to you. One way the insurance company makes a profit is to pay you the smallest amount possible for your personal injury claim.
2. The auto insurance company for the other driver can reduce the value of your claim by assigning a percentage of fault to you for the collision, or they can even deny it. This is one of their objectives in taking your statement before helping you. If you think that you can give a statement to an insurance adjuster without consulting first with an attorney, consider that the insurance adjuster has been specifically trained in how to take your statement. You have not had any training in how to give one.
3. The insurance company won’t tell you the importance of preserving evidence in your case. All injuries should be photographed. Significant damage to your vehicle should be photographed. Sometimes it is important to take photographs of the scene as soon as possible. Damaged personal property should be kept and not thrown away.
4. The insurance company won’t tell you what you need to do about medical treatment. It is very important to obtain timely medical treatment for all of your injuries, and not to have any significant gaps in treatment. You should always follow your doctor’s instructions.
5. They won’t explain everything regarding potentially available insurance coverages.
6. The insurance company won’t tell you how much money they save by convincing people to settle their personal injury claim too soon. Never settle your claim for injuries immediately, because you cannot tell right away whether you will have long term problems. Many times the tests run in the emergency room do not fully diagnose injuries.
7. The insurance adjuster won’t tell you that a personal injury attorney knows how to reduce what is paid back for your medical bills, resulting in you receiving more money for yourself from the settlement.