After a serious car accident, it’s easy to assume the insurance company will cover your losses fairly. In reality, though, that confidence can be misplaced. Insurance companies exist to turn a profit. Their goal is to protect their bottom line, and this means paying out as little as possible, even on valid claims.
At Brown Moore & Associates, PLLC, we understand the risks that come with accepting a first offer from an insurer. We’ll explain how insurance companies limit claims and how an experienced Charlotte accident attorney can help you hold onto the compensation you’re owed.
Insurance Companies Are Financially Incentivized to Minimize Payouts
When you file an insurance claim, you are putting your own interests up against a company that profits from collecting premiums and loses money every time it pays out. At many of these companies, adjusters face pressure to protect the company’s bottom line. Their profit may come at your expense.
An adjuster may scrutinize your file for inconsistencies in your story or for signs that you share blame. Policy language can get twisted to justify denying or reducing a payout. On top of that, many insurers reward staff for settling insurance claims at the lowest possible figure. That incentive system works directly against you.
These tactics aren’t limited to the other party’s insurer. Even your own carrier answers first to shareholders, not to you. Knowing this can give you the confidence to push back and seek a settlement that actually covers your losses.
How Insurance Companies Undervalue Injury and Accident Claims
Insurance companies use many tactics to minimize the value of injury claims. This process may start immediately after the company is notified of a crash and can continue for months. Here are some of the most common ways that insurers protect their profits.
Immediately Requesting Recorded Statements
When an adjuster calls you right after a crash – often while you’re still shaken or in pain – this is not because they’re worried about your well-being. Their friendly request for a recorded statement serves the insurer’s bottom line, not yours.
At that moment, you might not grasp how badly you’re hurt, or you could be under the influence of pain medications. If you mention feeling “okay” or admit you “didn’t see the other car,” your words can be used later to argue your injuries were minor or that you share blame.
An adjuster may phrase their questions very carefully, trying to draw answers out of you that don’t explain the whole truth. They can use these answers to reduce what they owe.
Understand one thing: You do not have to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company. Waiting until you’ve spoken with a Charlotte personal injury lawyer is usually smart. If an adjuster pushes you to decide quickly, simply say you plan to get legal advice first.
Insisting on Their Own Doctors for Independent Medical Exams
When an insurer requests that you submit to an independent medical exam (IME), proceed with caution. The term “independent” can be misleading. These exams are usually performed by physicians selected and paid by the insurer.
Even well-meaning physicians may be swayed by this setup. They often grow accustomed to siding with insurers, even if they’re not consciously aware of this bias. Thus, an insurer can use an IME report stating that your injury is minor or fully resolved to justify cutting off benefits or denying parts of your personal injury claim.
You have the right to seek a separate medical opinion from your own provider. And if you can’t avoid the insurer’s requested exam, get legal advice first. An attorney from Brown Moore & Associates, PLLC can work with your treating physician, and help prevent biased medical providers from eroding your claim.
Offering Lowball Settlements (Based on Software)
Insurers often lead with a first offer that falls well short of covering the claimant’s full losses. They count on your mounting medical bills and lost income to push you toward a quick payout. Without a lawyer, you might not see how this opening figure understates the true cost of your injury.
Today, many insurance companies rely on software to set settlement offers. The insurer’s program will scan your injury details and accident facts, then suggest a payout aimed at keeping costs low.
Adjusters usually have little power to move beyond those software-driven numbers, and some even earn bonuses for sticking to the lower ranges. And because these offers spring from a profit-focused formula, often from an AI-driven program, they may ignore your future medical needs, lost earning capacity, and ongoing pain and suffering.
You’re never obligated to take that first offer. Accepting it could saddle you with out-of-pocket costs later. Before signing anything, consider asking a lawyer to assess what your claim may actually be worth and help you fight for a result that truly reflects your losses.
Delaying or Stalling Your Claim
When you file a claim, an insurer might slow the process down instead of issuing an outright denial. Adjusters can ask for the same records over and over or request irrelevant documents just to drag out the process. You may find your calls and emails going unanswered for weeks, leaving you unsure of what’s happening.
A claim that should take a few weeks to resolve can stretch into months as the insurer looks into every detail or comes up with further reasons to delay. In some cases, a carrier may stall until the deadline for filing a lawsuit passes, leaving you with no legal recourse.
You have the right to a timely claim process, so unexplained holdups deserve your attention. An attorney can push the insurer to meet deadlines, challenge unreasonable demands, and, if needed, file suit to force the insurer to act.
What a Charlotte Accident Lawyer Looks For in an Injury Claim
When you get legal help after a crash, your accident lawyer can look at every way your life has been affected in order to make the insurer recognize the full value of your claim.
Hospital bills, for instance, are usually only the start. Follow-up surgeries, therapy sessions, prescription medications, and specialized devices can add up. Our attorneys may need to seek additional opinions from financial experts to estimate what your care might cost in the future so that you’re not stuck covering those bills yourself.
Non-economic damages, like pain and emotional distress, also factor in. Insurance companies often downplay the psychological effects of an injury. Your lawyer can document how your injury has changed your daily life and emotional well-being to build a strong case for fair compensation.
If your injury forces you to cut back your work hours or take a lower-paying job – or even step away from your career entirely – that lost earning capacity can become part of your claim.
Some injuries require daily help, whether from professional caregivers or from family members pitching in with meals and personal care. Their expenses, along with home modifications like ramps or accessible bathrooms, have real value and deserve to be included.
In the most serious situations, such as a traumatic brain injury or organ damage, your life expectancy may be reduced. When that’s the case, your lawyer can collaborate with doctors to determine whether a shortened lifespan should increase the claim amount.
Pulling together all these pieces can allow one of our Charlotte accident lawyers to build a full picture of how the crash affects your life now and down the road.
Additional Benefits of Calling an Injury Attorney
Insurers know that claims backed by legal counsel tend to secure higher awards. In fact, one industry study found that represented claimants recovered more than three times what unrepresented individuals did. That knowledge alone can push an insurer to offer a more reasonable figure from the moment it learns you’ve hired a lawyer.
You don’t carry any upfront costs, either. Our personal injury lawyers work on contingency, which means that you pay an attorney fee only if we recover compensation for you. Such a setup can free you from legal bills, and it lets you focus on getting better while we handle:
- Collating your medical records, witness testimony, pay stubs, and other pertinent information to review the scope of your losses
- Researching legal precedent for demand letters or lawsuit filings
- Conduct a comprehensive investigation into all potential liable parties
- Creating animations, 3D models, and other visual representations of the extent of your injuries
- Assessing whether you may be entitled to punitive damages
After they’ve fully prepared your case, an experienced attorney from our firm can begin the negotiation process from a position of strength. We can push back on an unfair settlement offer or, if needed, file a lawsuit to force a resolution. Insurers often respond to credible threats of litigation by improving their offers.
A Charlotte Legal Team You Can Rely On
The experienced lawyers at Brown Moore & Associates, PLLC in Charlotte are ready to level the playing field. We can value your claim properly, negotiate firmly on your behalf, and, if needed, seek justice in the courtroom.
Don’t let an insurer decide what your health and suffering are worth. Schedule a free consultation or call 704-335-1500.
