When a person is involved in an accident, an insurance adjuster is assigned to assess the damages and negotiate settlement of the claim. Regardless of whether the adjuster represents the victim’s or the liable party’s insurance provider, the adjuster’s primary concern is to save the company money. To that end, some adjusters may use inappropriate tactics to get people to settle for less than they’re owed. Here are two tactics that may be used, which underscore the need for those involved in accidents to contact a civil trial lawyer in Louisiana after a crash.
Claiming the Person Filed a Claim too Late
For one reason or another, people don’t always file insurance claims right away. They may have sought out a second opinion about a medical issue or couldn’t track down the person that caused the accident. Some unethical insurance adjusters will try to capitalize on this and tell people they filed their claims too late to be paid.
It’s fairly common for insurance companies to ask policyholders to notify them of an accident within a certain period of time. However, even if the policyholder misses the deadline, the insurance company is legally required to honor the claim.
Additionally, people submitting third-party claims have up until the statute of limitations (1 year from the date of the accident) to do so. Until that deadline passes, the insurance company must process the claim.
Passing Responsibility to another Insurer
Another tactic the insurance adjuster may try is to tell the person to file his or her claim with another party’s insurance provider. This typically occurs when there are multiple people involved in the same accident. The adjuster may feel another party is more liable for the accident and tell the claimant to deal with that person.
Unless and until that individual’s insurance company steps up to claim primary responsibility for the accident, all insurance providers are fair game and should be treated as equally liable until it becomes clear who will be paying for the damages.
Most insurance adjusters are ethical and professional and won’t try to pull these tricks. Regardless, it’s still a good idea to hire a civil trial lawyer in Louisiana who can anticipate these types of issues and use the law to counteract them. For more information about hiring an attorney, visit the website of KHA Law.
