Insurance protects people during unexpected tragedies, such as car accidents. It can prevent out-of-pocket expenses, ensure proper medical care and provide invaluable peace of mind during the worst scenarios.
While insurance companies have a fiduciary duty to act in their clients’ best interests, they are also profit-driven businesses. This financial motivation often results in behaviors that can put policyholders in a financial bind after sustaining crash injuries.
Policyholders must watch out for these ploys
An insurance adjuster tends to be one of the first parties to reach out to victims after the collision. They usually use this window of opportunity to employ the following bad faith tactics to reduce their payouts:
- Denying a claim without giving a sound reason or conducting a proper investigation
- Delaying a claim to incur tedious and prolonged paperwork and convince the injured party to accept a low offer
- Declaring baseless loopholes found through hidden policy provisions, social media posts or private surveillance footage to discredit or devalue a claim’s worth
In some cases, insurance companies discourage legal support to leave affected parties in the dark about their rights and options. It will not work in their favor if victims learn information, such as Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule that does not bar recovery by default. This system allows recovery even if the injured is partly to blame and only limits compensation based on the percentage of fault.
Policyholders can fight back
If insurance companies fail to act in good faith, the injured can challenge them with the help of a counsel. A legal team can aid negotiations and pursue a just settlement to pay for hospital bills and other losses.