Why Do Insurance Companies Lowball Injured People?
| September 13th, 2021
If you’re dealing with an insurance settlement following an accident, it can be stressful. Often you need to pay several expensive bills for medical treatment, and you may not have the money to pay for them. Unfortunately, insurance companies know this and may try to take advantage of you.
The California personal injury lawyers at Berg Injury Lawyers can help you navigate the often-complicated insurance settlement process so you can focus on recovering from your injury.
Why Insurance Companies Try to Lowball You
Insurance companies are a business and need to make a profit. They make their money by collecting insurance premiums, investing those premiums, and not paying out a lot in claims. It’s in the best interest of their bottom line to lowball you.
Some common reasons insurance companies make low initial settlement offers to injured people include:
● It’s worked for them in the past
People accept lowball offers all the time, whether because they need money quickly or just don’t know any better.
● They are trying to avoid future bills
Once you accept a settlement, it’s impossible to reopen the claim if you receive more bills or a doctor determines you need additional treatment. To save themselves money, insurance companies will make you a settlement offer before you’ve completed treatment or received all the bills related to your accident.
● They use computer-based estimates and haven’t considered your specific case
Large insurance companies receive thousands of claims, and they may not look at each case individually. Instead, they run claims through artificial intelligence software to compare it to previous cases they’ve settled to determine how much to offer you in your settlement.
● They are taking advantage of your inexperience
Insurance companies don’t think you know enough to spot a lowball offer or hire a lawyer, especially if you’ve said the wrong thing while discussing the case with them. They hope you see the settlement offer as a take-it-or-leave-it deal and not a negotiation.
● They use a “deny first” policy
Some companies will simply deny your claim altogether without looking at it, hoping you’ll just accept it and move on.
How to Tell if Your Settlement Offer Is Lowball
There are several ways to tell if the insurance company is lowballing you.
● They actively discourage you from consulting a lawyer or pressure you to decide quickly
When you receive the settlement and say you can’t accept it until you’ve spoken with a lawyer, a disreputable insurance company will advise you not to get a lawyer because it will slow down the process. They know a good lawyer can spot their lowball offer and fight it.
● You get the settlement quickly
Insurance settlements take time to research. There’s a lot of evidence to dig through and facts to sort before they can craft your settlement. If they’ve done it too quickly, that’s a sign they didn’t take the time to investigate your claim properly.
● They ignore or dismiss evidence, blame you for the accident, or question the source of your injuries
If insurance companies tell you that specific evidence doesn’t matter or try to convince you that you are to blame for the accident, they are doing so to make their settlement offer sound more generous than it is.
This can also pressure you into taking their offer out of fear that you will lose that amount if you continue to push for fair compensation. They may also blame your injuries on other causes to prove that they aren’t liable for a payout.
● They don’t explain their math
If you ask how they arrived at your settlement total, and they can’t provide that information, they are probably lowballing you. They know that if they explain how they arrived at your offer amount, you or a lawyer will see the amount is too low.
● They suddenly become unresponsive
If you challenge the settlement offer, and the insurance company suddenly becomes unresponsive, they are probably lowballing you and hoping you will not want to draw the process out any longer and just accept the offer.
Contact Berg Injury Lawyers for Your Free Consultation Today
The experienced personal injury attorneys at Berg Injury Lawyers can help you through the insurance claim process. We ensure you receive a fair settlement so you can focus on what’s important to you and get back to your regular life.
At Berg Injury Lawyers, we offer a free consultation to discuss your case. Call us today so you can receive the compensation you are entitled to.
