The most important thing for people to remember when dealing with insurance adjusters after automobile accidents is that they have a mission, and that is to evaluate claims in the best interest of the companies they represent, according to attorney John Wood, who handles auto accident cases at his law firm in Minneapolis, MN.
Of course, Wood is quick to emphasize that just because an adjuster is representing the interest of the insurance company he works for does not mean that he is a cheater who is going to defraud anyone. Rather, it just means that those working with these insurance adjusters need to remember which side the adjusters are on before blindly jumping at whatever offers they may make to settle claims.
The No. 1 tip that Wood’s Minneapolis law firm offers auto accident clients is to remember that each insurance adjuster is supposed to always be truthful, and most of them usually are. With that being said though, people need to remember that the adjuster is not their friend, and that the adjuster is not there to do them any favors. “Their job is to represent the insurance company and to represent the interests of the insurance company and not yours,” Wood says. “So that is the mental framework or attitude that you should have.”
The next tip that Wood offers is that his clients, or any automobile accident victims, need to be truthful with the adjusters and their attorneys at all times. People should not embellish the facts and they should not leave out the facts, and it is important to be “totally truthful” about everything that happened before, during, and after the accident.
Wood says that his third and final piece of advice to people is to be very wary of signing anything that appears to be a settlement or a resolution of a claim without getting the advice of an attorney. “Don’t settle early,” he says. “And don’t settle until you know for sure what your injuries are.” Until a doctor has been able to do a full examination, there is no way of knowing whether the seemingly minor pain is something that is expected to go away in time, or not. And if it’s not, then that could require years of therapy and medical treatments. Insurance adjusters have the goal of getting their clients to settle early and quickly, but the victims themselves need to understand that this is not always the best option.
Wood tells the story of one insurance company in Minnesota that is particularly notorious for going to injured clients very quickly—within one week, or even days after the accident in some cases—and offering a token sum of money that can range from $500 to $1,500 to settle. Taking this money is an awful idea though, since it can be difficult to know how serious the injuries from your accident are until a doctor has made a full report. “I just shake my head at the number of people who buy into it thinking they’re not hurt, but then they find out they really are,” Wood says.
Settling early, and for less money than you may have been able to get otherwise, is a way to make the insurance adjuster look like the hero in his office, since this the goal of the insurance company as a whole. But Wood’s Minneapolis law firm never recommends that auto accident clients take any settlements without first consulting an attorney.
For people who live in the state of Minnesota specifically, being able to work effectively with an insurance adjuster is even more important than for some people in other states. This is because the state of Minnesota is a no fault state, which means that auto accident victims can expect to be dealing with two adjusters—their own adjusters, and the adjusters working for the drivers who were at fault.
In most cases, a person’s insurance company will pay for medical bills or loss of income up to a certain level, regardless of who was at fault. However, if the financial losses go over the amount that the insurance company will pay, then that is when the at fault driver’s insurance adjuster will get involved. Either way, Wood likes to advise his clients to be wary when dealing with adjusters of any kind.
This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.
