Car accidents occur at an alarming rate. Avoid these car accidents at all cost. You can do this by taking certain precautions such as servicing your car on a regular basis. These precautions may not always prevent a car accident. This is why you should learn how to deal with car accidents once they occur. This means that you need to learn how to deal with an adjuster. An adjuster is a representative of an insurance company. He or she can represent your insurance company or the insurance company of another driver involved in the same car accident as you.
Adjusters will call you after an accident has occurred. They will ask many questions regarding the car accident, the car and your state of health. Answering these questions is not easy. You should remember that adjusters do not represent you. They represent the interests of insurance companies that employ them. Their job is to make sure that these companies part with as little cash as possible. They may fulfil their obligations at your expense. Exercise a lot of caution when dealing with them. You can easily incriminate yourself or waive your rights to compensation by talking to them freely. Here is how you should handle talking to an insurance adjuster.
Recording a Statement
Inform your insurance company of a car accident involving you or your car as soon as it happens. You should also inform the company of any serious injuries or complaints caused by the accident. These companies will automatically assume that everything is okay if you do not raise any serious complaints. They make this automatic assumption because they do not want to part with any money. They would rather use this money to make profit than to pay compensation. These companies will send an adjuster to seek clarifications on the details of the car accident once they are aware of the serious nature of the accident.
The adjuster assigned to you will ask you to record a statement. The statement is a legal document that contains your version of events during the car accident. Recording the statement is not easy. It takes a lot of time, effort and writing. You should never exaggerate the truth while recording this statement. Exaggerations or lies will catch up with you. There are serious ramifications that arise out of telling lies including forfeiture of compensation or jail sentences in extreme cases. It is also important for you to note that you must record the statement requested by your insurance adjuster. Failure to record this statement can lead to voidance of your insurance coverage. Your insurance adjuster uses this statement to decide if the accident was your fault or not.
Medical Details
Medical records are private. This is a universal principle. You should only share your medical details when they are relevant to a particular case. These shared details should not be broad. They should be highly specific. You should also look at the person asking for your medical details. For example, you should be careful when divulging information to an adjuster representing the insurance company of another party to the accident. This is because divulging too much information may cost you your claim.
You should obtain your medical records from the medical institution that treated you. Scrutinize these medical records with your doctor. Make sure that these records do not have any mistakes and then forward them to the adjuster for the other party. Do not sign a medical authorization form with this adjuster. This form would give him or her access to too much information on you and your state of health. Some of this information may be irrelevant to the claim at hand and as such, it should always remain private. You should avoid settling claims while still undergoing your initial medical treatment. You can never know the true extent of your injuries while you are still undergoing preliminary medical treatment. You can only get an idea of how serious your injuries are when you receive a detailed and lengthy report from your doctor or physician.
Be Cautious All the Time
There are many parties to a car accident. Each party has his or her own interests at heart. You should be wary of any moves each party makes in regards to the claim resulting from the car accident. You should also be wary of the information these parties may want from you. This is especially true when it comes to information requested by adjusters representing other parties to the accident. These adjusters may ask you to record a statement with them. Do not record this statement. Tell the adjusters for the other parties that you wish to consult your attorney before writing or signing any document. Let your attorney talk to these adjusters on your behalf. Attorneys know how to handle them.
Adjusters for the other party may also try to call you at home or at work. Do not answer this call. This is because the adjusters in question may use what you say to them while on phone against you. For example, if you tell them that you are fine then that is an indication of good health. Such statements may seriously damage your claim. Let your family members, friends and colleagues answer the phone. Adjusters for the other party cannot use anything other people say while on phone against you
While we always recommend talking to a qualified attorney, now you know how to handle an adjuster on your own. You no longer need to worry about making mistakes when dealing with them. You can now confidently address adjusters from your own insurance company and/or adjusters acting on behalf of other insurance companies. You just need to remember that information is power. Be truthful in all your statements but only divulge information that is necessary as well as relevant to the case. Take your time before divulging this information.
Consult with attorney as much as possible before making or signing any statements. Remember, insurance companies want to make profit. Spending money on you eats into their profit. This is why they would always try to avoid compensating you. You also need someone to look out for your best interests. It begins with you. Handle these adjusters appropriately and with a lot of care. Do not exacerbate the situation by quickly revealing information that they can use against you. You should also hire an attorney to deal with the legal jargon that usually comes with cases involving car accidents.
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