What Not To Say to an Insurance Adjuster After a Car Accident
Insurance is supposed to be there for you when you get in an auto accident. After all, you pay premiums every month so that they have your back. However, this doesn’t mean they always have your interests in mind. In fact, you should act with some precautions when speaking to an insurance adjuster, whether they are from your own insurance company or the other driver’s.
When you speak to an adjuster, only report the facts about yourself in the situation. No matter how much you think you know, a new piece of evidence could turn up that makes your statement false. You should also avoid saying anything about these key aspects when you speak to them.
Uncertainty
You may not have a clear picture of what happened during your accident, which is why it is ideal to tell only what you know. Omit any questionable statements or sentences that begin with “I think.” These can be detrimental to your case, especially if you turn out to be wrong later.
Fault
You may have a pretty good idea of who is at fault for the crash. Sometimes it is blatantly obvious, but other times you may not have the full picture. If you say you are at fault now, there is no taking back the claim. This can make it incredibly difficult to get compensated from the other driver’s insurance in a state that has comparative negligence laws. Instead of saying you caused the crash, relay the incident as it occurred.
Names
You may want to name the other people involved in the accident, but you don’t need to do this. When you talk to your adjuster, only discuss what happened to you. Let anyone else in the accident speak to insurance on their own. If the adjuster presses you for information, politely decline or state you don’t know. Unlike the declarations “I think” or “I guess,” saying that you don’t know is a perfectly acceptable answer.
Injuries
You may be injured after the accident, or you may have a latent injury that hasn’t yet shown itself. If you discuss your injuries with insurance, you could seriously jeopardize your ability to get injury-related expenses compensated. If you mention one injury during your initial discussion, but another comes up later, the insurance company can claim you never told them about it and that it is not from the accident.
A lawyer can talk to insurance in your place, making sure you don’t give up valuable information. Consider hiring a lawyer, similar to an auto accident lawyer from Unidos Legales, to get extra help with your accident claim.