Accidents Happen - Make Sure You're Prepared
Anytime there is an accident or damages, an insurance company becomes involved to settle the claim. The claims process is often difficult to understand, as dealing with the insurance industry is confusing and challenging.
However, there are specific things you can do to ensure that you receive the highest payouts.
Insurance companies are constantly trying to reduce the awards, and they want to quickly settle to increase their bottom-line results. The behavior is made worse, with higher amounts of policies for
- Home
- Life
- Health
- Automobiles
The best approach is to listen to the advice from the public claims adjust in New Jersey. You want to be on the lookout for methods used by insurance companies to avoid the challenges and get the money you deserve.
Keep reading to learn more!
Methods Frequently Used by Insurance Companies
After you make a claim, the insurance company sends out its adjuster to assess the damage.
On the surface, insurance carriers are working with you to ensure you get the proper amount of money and can move forward.
In reality, claims adjusters have several goals when they come to visit you to include settling them quickly, for low amounts and investigating insurance fraud.
Typically, these professionals handle anywhere between 50 and 100 claims a month and want to get through everything quickly.
You want to be careful about what you say to the claims adjuster to ensure you get the maximum amount of compensation.
Limit the Conversation
The most significant piece of advice from the public adjuster in New Jersey is to keep your conversations limited.
- The insurance company’s adjuster works for the carrier and is there to settle claims following the company’s guidelines. You don’t want to elaborate on anything too much and answer their questions directly.
For example, if you were hit by a semi-truck driving up the New Jersey Turnpike, don’t go into everything surrounding the accident. You want to focus on the events right before it and the after-effects on your life.
- Limit your discussions to things that are the most relevant and don’t provide any additional information. The insurance company’s adjuster is digging for information to find something that can absolve them of responsibility.
The more you talk without an adjuster on your side, the higher the odds that your claim will be denied or there will be delays in completing it.
Don’t Sign or Put Anything in Writing
Another piece of advice from the independent claims adjuster in New Jersey is to not sign anything or write a statement.
- Insurance adjusters sometimes use approaches to get you to waive your rights or give them access to additional information. These adjusters try to take advantage of the trauma you went through after the event and need your authorization to gain the information they need.
For instance, if you were injured on the Garden State Parkway by a falling sign and were taken to Jersey City Medical Center. The insurance company’s adjuster might want access to your medical records.
- They cannot obtain it without first receiving your written consent and want to use it as a part of investigating your case. However, when the adjuster is given access, the records might show that you suffered from migraine headaches before the accident.
- The insurance company uses this pre-existing condition against you to claim that other events are responsible for the accident. They want to absolve themselves of responsibility and are seeking out anything to blame you.
Never sign anything or put it in writing for the adjuster; as the insurance company plans on using it against you.
Never Accept the First Offer
Another critical piece of advice from the claims adjuster in New Jersey is never to accept the first offer from the insurance company.
- All claims have a specific amount of money allocated as the settlement, where insurance carriers will try to go below that to see if you will say yes.
- The best approach is to deny the first claim and see if the company will come back with a better offer.
We Can Help
These are a few pieces of advice that help you to effectively settle your claim and ensure you get the amount you deserve. Call Crestview Public Adjusters today at 212-481-0100 and let us help you with our 50 years of experience. We work for you and look out for your best interests when dealing with the insurance company.