Although State Farm may claim it is “like a good neighbor” and there to help, it is foolish to believe any insurance company has your best interests in mind when it processes your claims. Insurance companies are businesses, and first and foremost exist to make money. When it pays out on policyholders’ claims, this loses money for the company, so claims adjusters look for any reasons to reduce or deny claims. The ideal business model for any insurance company is to collect as much revenue as possible through premiums and pay out as little as possible in settlements.
It’s wise for everyone to know how filing an insurance claim works and what to expect from the process. Insurance companies employ different tactics depending on the type of claim and its value, so lower-risk, lower-value claims typically have teams of claims adjusters working on them while higher-value, high-risk claims will generally fall to one experienced adjuster.
What to Expect After Filing Your State Farm Claim
After making a claim against your State Farm insurance policy, you should expect a response from the company within a day or two, at most. Sometimes you will be able to talk to an agent on the same day as the incident that led to your claim. It’s a good idea to have a Houston personal injury attorney at Ben Bronston & Associates handle your communications with your insurance company, as the insurer will be far more agreeable when working with an attorney and will likely refrain from attempting to lowball a claim without clear justification.
During your initial interview with the insurance adjuster, be very careful of your word choice. It’s also important to note that while the adjuster may make it sound like you must provide a recorded statement, this is simply untrue, and such a statement will more than likely work against you. Even off-the-cuff remarks will come back to haunt you later. For example, the adjuster may begin by asking a seemingly innocent question like “How are you?” If you respond “okay” or “fine,” the insurance company will later interpret that to mean you are fine after your incident.
Most people don’t feel the full force of a car accident until a day or two later, once the adrenaline has left the bloodstream. On the day of the accident, the claimant may say he or she feels fine, and be in so much pain the next day that getting out of bed is difficult. Don’t offer the insurance company any information that could complicate your claim, and never offer more of a response than necessary. Some adjusters use an interview tactic of pausing for a long time after the claimant answers a question. Conversational silences like this are awkward, so some people may start talking again just to break the silence. Don’t fall into this trap, as it is an attempt to get you to say something the insurer could later use against your claim.
How Our Attorney Can Help Your State Farm Claim
A reliable personal injury attorney is a tremendous asset in any dealing with insurers. Your attorney will be able to provide you with tips for speaking with claims adjusters, and will field most of the communication so you don’t need to worry about it. Most insurers will attempt to deny claims outright in the hope claimants will simply give up. If they do not, the insurer will often move to delays to make the claimant panic and accept a lowball offer. When they encounter pushback, they will defend their position using any and all means necessary. Having a personal injury lawyer represent your interests is a great way to discourage these tactics.
If you suspect an insurance agent has acted in bad faith by lying to you, pressuring you to give more information than necessary, or unreasonably interfering with your claims process, you may have a bad faith insurance claim on your hands. Speak with your Houston car accident attorney about your concerns and he or she will issue a letter stating bad faith to the insurance company.
