If you are injured in a car accident, you file a claim with auto insurance companies. This is so that you can get paid for injuries and suffering stemming a motor vehicle accident.
If you file a claim, you can guarantee the insurance company will investigate the details of the claim. This means that they will also investigate you thoroughly. If you are dealing with the claim yourself, you will need to speak directly with the insurance companies, as opposed to an attorney stepping in on your behalf.
Claim investigations are simply to insure that the claim you are making is legitimate. Sometimes their investigations continue for a while, even after they have agreed you have been insured in the car accident. This is because insurance companies look to weed out fraud in their claims.
There are two types of fraud: hard fraud and soft fraud.
Hard Fraud involves conspiracies to make a completely fake claim purely to make money. Even insurance companies would agree, these cases of fraud are rare- less than 1% of their cases.
What insurance companies are really looking for is soft fraud. Soft fraud are situations where people have real claims, but exaggerate their injuries. People commit soft fraud in order to inflate the amount of money they can receive from their claim. These cases of fraud occur in around 3% to 10% of claims.
Despite the fact insurance fraud is relatively rare, insurance companies need to prevent it. When the insurance company questions you, speaks with your friends and family, and sometimes even has investigators follow you, it is in attempt to avoid soft fraud.
So what should you do when the insurance company aggressively investigates you because of your auto insurance claim?
- Stay Calm
It can be easy to get very frustrated with people digging into your personal life. It can also be frustrating to have your pain questioned when it is very real. The most important thing you can do is stay calm. If you get defensive, the investigation is only going to continue longer.
The insurance adjusters are just people doing their job- not the enemy. Stay calm and answer their questions. When it comes down to it, you did nothing wrong and they are just doing their job. No worries!
- Be Honest
They are looking for soft fraud. You know this. Don’t try and edit your answers just because you know what they are looking for. If there are complications in your case, be honest. Tell the adjuster. If you were in a serious accident prior, let them know. If you had similar injuries that the motor vehicle accident aggravated, tell them. Don’t wait for the adjuster to ask either; tell them right away. If you are not forthright, when they find out these complicating factors later, your credibility is in question.
- Know When to Quit
At some point, you might find yourself utterly fed up with the investigation and behavior of the insurance company.
If you have been calm, honest and forthright, but the investigation just will not give, you might be at the point to find a personal injury attorney. If the insurance investigation just seems too intrusive, prolonged, or excessive, look into how to find a lawyer and find the best attorney for you. You attorney will step in between you and the insurance company, and discover why the investigation was so excessive to begin with- chances are, your case could greatly use the support of a legal representative. You can bet the insurance company has lawyers, you should too.
If you or someone you love has been injured in an accident, make sure you check out our guide to Denver Attorney Reviews HERE
