What You Should Do When the Insurance Adjuster Begins Harassing You

You’ve recently gotten into a serious car accident. Your car is severely damaged and you’ve spent the last few weeks in the hospital recovering your injuries. You call your car insurance company to get the money needed to pay your bills and the damage to your vehicle. You speak with a friendly claims representative named Janice who is more than happy to help you with your situation. However, the settlement offer you get back is way lower than you were expecting. It hardly covers your medical bills let alone the damage to your car.

Weeks go by as you try to negotiate a better settlement. However, Janice’s offers are not going to cover your expenses. You finally decide it’s time to take legal action. And suddenly, Janice is no longer so nice on the phone. Day and night she calls, demanding that you accept the settlement or the insurance company will drop you. You’re fed up and can’t take it anymore. What should you do?

Unfortunately, this scenario happens often with many of our clients. The role of the insurance adjuster is to settle an insurance claim without exceeding a certain dollar amount. For instance, an insurance adjuster who just started with the company may only be able to offer you up to $10,000 in a settlement. So he/she will try to get the lowest possible number out of that $10,000. And chances are, if you were in a severe car accident, this would hardly cover the costs.

This why we stress that before speaking with an insurance adjuster, it’s always best to speak with an attorney first after your accident. Insurance adjusters are more interested in getting you to sign on the dotted line – even if it means giving you less than what your accident is costing you. So before you get harassed by an insurance adjuster, follow these steps:

• Don’t speak to an adjuster without first discussing your case with an attorney. Adjusters can twist your words around. Instead of giving them a testimonial, tell the adjuster you will call back at another time.
• Don’t sign anything until your attorney has seen it first. We cannot express how crucial this is. For all you know, you can be signing for a settlement that is nothing compared to what you deserve to get.
• Always tell the truth when it comes to your accident, even if you were doing something illegal or wrong. A lie can impact your claim.
• Don’t understate your injuries. By doing so, you might be getting less than what you deserve. At the same time, don’t exaggerate because it may come back to haunt you.
• Make sure everything is in writing. For instance, any time the adjuster calls to talk with you, make sure you have him/her follow it up in writing. This will help keep the insurance company honest.

If you’ve been involved in a car accident in New Jersey and need the assistance of a lawyer, don’t wait. Contact the Law Offices of Anthony Carbone today for a free consultation.