5 Common Tactics Insurance Companies Use to Devalue Car Accident Claims

Insurance companies attract customers by using compassionate commercials and glossy ads, but it’s important to remember that they are private companies that exist to make profits. Keeping profits up requires minimizing the amount they pay out on car accident claims. They may dispute or deny a claim outright, or use endless stalling tactics in the expectation that you will give up or accept a low settlement offer.

Besides denying, disputing, and delaying car accident claims, insurance companies commonly use tactics to devalue—or lower—a payout on a car accident claim. Experienced accident attorneys in Seattle warn car accident victims to be wary of five common methods insurance companies use to devalue claims.

1. Offering a Fast Settlement

Insurance adjusters assigned to a car accident case know that an injured victim is vulnerable in the early days after an accident. They may reach out very soon after the accident with a low settlement offer. They intentionally do this early, before you know the full extent of the damages you are facing such as weeks or months of lost income, medical procedures, and rehabilitation. Some victims discover they’re left with permanent partial or total disability.
Never accept an early settlement offer from an insurance company without speaking to an attorney.

2. Calling on a Recorded Line

When an insurance adjuster warns that they’re calling you on a recorded line, speaking to them permits them to record you. Some insurance companies take a car accident victim’s casual remarks out of context and use their words against them to minimize a claim. For example, they may sound caring when they ask you how you are feeling, but if you talk about your injuries and say, “I’m feeling better today, thank you.” they may use that against you later when you file a claim for future medical expenses related to the injury.

3. Asking for a Medical Authorization to Review Your Injury Report

Insurance adjusters commonly seek medical authorization to examine the report of your injuries. Unfortunately, signing a blanket medical release gives them access to your entire medical history which they may scour for previous injuries or pre-existing conditions. Then they may claim that the previous condition is what’s causing your pain and other symptoms, not the car accident.  

4. Claiming that Your Medical Treatment Isn’t Necessary

Your doctor may recommend further medical treatment or rehabilitative measures to help you recover after an accident. This becomes part of your claim for damages. Sometimes insurance companies consult their own medical experts and then determine that your doctor’s recommended course of treatment isn’t necessary for your injury and dispute that portion of the claim.

5. Assigning You a Percentage of Fault for the Accident

Washington is one of several states with a pure comparative negligence insurance system that allows car accident victims to seek compensation even when they contributed to the cause of the accident. This is beneficial to drivers who are partly responsible because they can still recover a portion of their damages.

Unfortunately, it’s also one of the most common and effective ways an insurance company devalues a car accident claim. By assigning you an undue percentage of fault for the accident, they lower the compensation they pay out by the percentage of your “fault.” For example, if they find you were 25% at fault for the accident, they can lower a $100,000 compensation claim to $75,000. 

An experienced personal injury lawyer in Seattle helps safeguard a client’s best interests by counteracting these common insurance company tactics.