Insurance Claims
Richmond attorney Wayne O'Bryan has over 40 years experience to help you with almost any type of case. Call him today for a consultation.
Protect Yourself from Insurance Companies
Insurance companies are essentially predators when it comes to your claim. Insurance companies are increasing their premiums and deductibles while they are spending a lot of money to lobby the government to change the laws in their favor. Sometimes they even write the laws that get passed. They are taking away your right to a fair and just recovery by hindering the ability of medical malpractice, personal injury and insurance victims to get a fair settlement in a court of law.
Insurance companies often assume that every claimant is “scamming the system” and just trying to make a quick buck by filing an insurance claim. Therefore, insurance companies tend to dismiss most cases, leaving people who actually need help out in the cold.
Controlling the Case
The insurance adjuster is the person who decides how much money the insurance company will pay for a Richmond personal injury claim. They are also in charge of investigating a claim. This includes talking to witnesses, evaluating property damage, reading police reports, and reviewing medical records. We would all like to think that adjusters are looking out for your best interests. But in reality most adjusters are only interested in saving the company money.
In order to pay out as little as possible, insurance companies try to “control the case” by keeping victims away from an attorney. Meanwhile, the insurance company immediately begins working on your case as soon as it happens – and trying to come up with ways to avoid paying you the money you deserve.
Making a Statement to an Insurance Company
There are cases in which you do not have to talk to an insurance adjuster; your attorney will handle all the details. However, if must give a statement to the insurance company, here are a few Do’s and Don’ts:
Do:
- Speak with your attorney to mentally prepare for the interview. An experienced attorney understands the process and can offer advice about the process.
- Record the conversation or take good notes.
- Provide specific details of all injuries that occurred because of the accident.
Don’t:
- Agree to anything or sign any papers unless your attorney is present.
- Engage in “small talk” about your family, work, or how you are feeling. Adjusters will attempt to get you to reveal information that you may think is harmless, but they may use it against you.
- Offer more information than what is asked of you. Be straight and to the point.
An Experienced Richmond Insurance Claims Attorney
Wayne O’Bryan started his career by representing insurance companies, so he knows exactly how insurance claims work. He works to guide and protect victims of insurance companies with his years of experience. If you need to file an insurance claim, or feel you have been unfairly treated by an insurance company, contact Richmond insurance claims lawyer Wayne O’Bryan today.
More Insurance Claim Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I get more money for my accident claim?
- Insurance companies keep calling me. What do I do?
- Why does the adjuster keep calling me for information?
- Will my insurance premium rates go up if I make a claim against an uninsured driver or motorist?
- But the adjuster is so nice and is trying to help me. Why do I need a lawyer?
- What is the objective of the insurance adjuster?
- The driver who hit me did not have any insurance. What should I do?
Library
- What You Need to Know About Car Accident Insurance Settlements
- Uninsured Motorist Coverage – Do you have enough?
- The Difference Between Medical Bills Claims and Injury Claims
- Insurance Company Lawyer Tricks
- Insurance companies use their money to change laws in their favor.
- Do I sue the insurance company of the driver of the other vehicle in a Virginia car accident case?
- Insurance Coverage: Which company has to cover me for my accident?
- An excerpt from “Hidden Inside Secrets Big Insurance Companies Don’t Want You to Know About Your Injury Claim”
- Dirty Little Secrets Insurance Companies Don’t Want You to Know (Part 1)
- Dirty Little Secrets Insurance Companies Don’t Want You to Know (Part 2)
- Dirty Little Secrets Insurance Companies Don’t Want You to Know (Part 3)
- Dirty Little Secrets Insurance Companies Don’t Want You to Know (Part 4)
- Questions Insurance Adjusters Hate (Part 1)
- Questions Insurance Adjusters Hate (Part 2)
Transcription
“I started out representing insurance companies, so I know how insurance companies treat people. I can make a difference in dealing with insurance companies in stepping in between my client and the insurance company. Protecting them from the insurance company which is basically a big predator, and trying to ease their way through the process.
It’s a process that most people, if they go through it one time in their life it’s usually enough for them. Most people don’t do it more than once, so it’s usually sort of a strange environment because they’re not familiar with it. I’m sort of a guide and a protector and an explainer. I’ve spent almost three years doing defense work and I’ve dealt with insurance adjustors and insurance companies. I came to learn to a large degree it’s their attitude toward the system.
They have an attitude that everybody is faking it, everybody is just out to try to make a quick buck for nothing. They have a tendency to discount everybody and every injury. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I know that there are people who are genuinely hurt, and do need help and deserve being compensated.
The insurance industry has a term for what they do with unrepresented claimants. They call it controlling the case. What they’re trying to do is to control that case for a length of time, and keep that injured person away from a lawyer, because they know that if they get to a lawyer that they will have to pay more money on the case. Also because they know that if they can extend the time before they get to that lawyer, the evidence will disappear, things will become more difficult for the claimant because of that delay.
The thing I always tell folks is that the insurance company is not sitting on their hands on your case, they’re out there working. From the minute it happens, from the minute they found out about it, they’re on the job trying to get information. What they’re basically doing is they’re pumping every source of information they have.
Insurance adjustors are information gatherers, not information givers. If you think insurance companies are interested in talking about the case in an honest fashion, ask the insurance adjustor how much insurance coverage his insured has, you will hear a long pause of silence, because they won’t tell you that, but they’ll ask you every personal question they can think of, and expect you to answer it. It’s a one-way street for them.”