If you have never been in a car accident before and you’ve recently suffered harm as a result of a crash, you likely have many questions about how to handle the aftermath of your wreck efficiently and effectively. Dealing with insurance companies is unpleasant on the best of days, but when you’re trying to recover from physical and/or emotional trauma and other practical consequences resulting from a crash, it can be – to be frank – unbearable. You just want to get the compensation to which you’re entitled so that you can move forward to the best of your ability and process your situation in your own time, right?
Unfortunately, in a scenario in which an auto accident victim submits a claim to an insurance company, the claims adjuster assigned to the claim only has a few straightforward questions, and a fairly-calculated reimbursement check sent directly to the victim within a few weeks is the exception to this process, not the general rule. Most of the time, it takes months to receive a fairly-valued reimbursement check from the car insurance company. And even then, accident victims may need to jump through 12 different kinds of hoops and endure multiple delays before their checks will ultimately arrive.
Why Does This Process Take So Long?
The claims that get resolved the fastest are ordinarily those that are submitted in the wake of minor accidents that do not result in any injuries and only require the repair of minor property damage. The reason that cases are complex and/or have the potential to be expensive is simply that insurance companies are for-profit enterprises. Like any other business that has a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders and any enterprise that aims to remain operational and profitable, insurance companies closely guard their bottom line. When someone submits a claim, they request compensation that could otherwise be used to support that bottom line.
As a result, insurance claims adjusters are broadly trained to reject claims when possible and to minimize the company’s liability for compensation when there is no valid reason to reject a particular claim. In service of this goal, claims adjusters tend to thoroughly investigate a claimant’s circumstances to better understand whether there are any legitimate reasons to reject the claim in question.
This is one of the reasons why it is so important to either refrain from using social media entirely or to take great care when engaging with social media platforms while an insurance claim remains active. It is now commonly-accepted practice for insurance claims adjusters to monitor the social media accounts of accident victims to see if any of their activity can be used as an excuse to reject or devalue their claim. Say, for example, that you post a picture of you and your child tossing a ball around. This seemingly-innocuous image could be used as evidence that you can’t possibly be as hurt as you claim to be if you can toss a ball around comfortably.
Essentially, the claims process takes (what feels like) forever because insurance companies rarely leave any stones unturned in their pursuit to pay claimants less compensation than they are entitled to receive. Certainly, processing paperwork and other administrative tasks take some time but not the kind of time that companies generally take when responding to someone’s claim.
Responding To An Insurance Company’s Approach
Partially due to the aggressive and self-defensive tactics utilized by most insurance companies, it is important to speak with an attorney as soon as you possibly can in the wake of an accident. This is especially true if you have sustained injuries as a result of the wreck and/or it is likely that your legal situation is going to be complex for any reason whatsoever. If you have already started to communicate with insurance companies and you believe that any of them are acting in bad faith, you can potentially work with an attorney to file a complaint with the state and to pursue a remedy for this form of mistreatment.
However, it is ideal to start working with a lawyer right away to prevent this kind of nonsense from occurring. Experienced car crash lawyers tend to understand how insurance companies operate and the tips and tricks they utilize to minimize their own liability. As a result, skilled attorneys will be ready to aggressively advocate on behalf of your interests until a fair settlement can be reached without unnecessary delays.
In the event that a fair settlement cannot be reached, it may become necessary – or, at least, advisable – to file a personal injury lawsuit in order to pursue the maximum amount of compensation to which you are entitled. Having a reputable attorney by your side from the start means that, in the event that litigation becomes the best way forward, your interests will be represented by someone who knows how to get results, even when pitted against a massive insurance company’s legal team.
Contact A Client-Focused Arizona Car Accident Lawyer For Personalized Assistance
The process of pursuing rightful compensation in the wake of an injurious accident can be a truly stressful and time-intensive endeavor. Know that you don’t have to navigate this undertaking alone when you should be focusing on healing from the physical, mental, and emotional trauma that you’ve likely suffered to significant degrees. Instead, consider allowing the dedicated and reputable legal team at Perez Law Group, PLLC to handle the heavy lifting associated with insurance negotiations on your behalf while you turn your attention to wherever else it may be needed at this time.
To get started and to learn more about our team’s approach to representation of car accident victims, you can call (602) 730-7100 or fill out a contact form on our website. Navigating the stresses of the insurance claims process after suffering harm in an injurious accident shouldn’t be your burden to bear. Allow us to help, today.
