What Does An Insurance Adjuster Do?
An insurance adjuster actively participates in accidents that involve injuries and property damage, conducts investigations, and potentially faces claims against an insurance policy, business, or other entity.
As an employee of an insurance company, they have the responsibility of investigating, evaluating, and negotiating personal injury and/or property damage insurance claims on behalf of the company.
As part of this role for the insurance company, he/she evaluates/investigates an accident’s cause and how much an insurance company may pay for a claim. These functions may include gathering information like accident reports, parties and witnesses involved, and inspecting/testing/photographing the vehicles and scene involved.
During a personal injury claim investigation, an insurance adjuster gathers injury and treatment information, collects health care records and bills, and inquires into an injured victim’s prior medical and accident history. He/she may also investigate wage/employment/education loss, and determine other ongoing effects from accident-related injuries.
If you have been injured in an accident, it is likely that you will engage with an insurance adjuster who works for the other person’s insurance company. If you find yourself in this situation, it’s important to protect yourself.
How do you Negotiate a Settlement with an Insurance Claims Adjuster?
Know Your Rights
First, remember, if an insurance adjuster calls, you don’t have to answer their questions. In fact, answering the questions of insurance adjusters, especially if you’re unrepresented or unfamiliar with them, can be harmful, particularly when you are unaware of how the information will be utilized.
Typically, an insurance adjuster asks about your background, the accident or incident, insurance, and damages.
When speaking with an insurance adjuster, they might request signed healthcare/employment authorizations or a recorded statement. Be cautious when doing either. The trained insurance adjuster knows what information they need from you and how they’ll use it. Insurance adjusters handle injury claims daily. Most accident victims, on the other hand, are unfamiliar with these situations.
Take control of communication. Find out who you are speaking to, why they’re calling and who they represent. Determine if the insurance adjuster handles property damage, medical payments, bodily injury or is involved as an investigator. Ask the insurance adjuster for their name, contact info, and the claim number assigned to your case.
Make Informed Decisions
After an accident, you may experience injuries, require healthcare, endure pain, and face lost wages. Despite these unexpected and unwanted problems, the insurance company will usually start working on your claim soon after the accident. Inaction or uninformed choices may hinder your chances of a complete recovery.
Many injury victims don’t recognize that an insurance adjuster works for the insurance company and its clients. The insurance adjuster will protect the insurance company’s best interests, not give you legal advice or protect you. They want to limit payments while resolving cases as quickly as possible.
The insurance adjuster askes about your injuries and collects relevant documentation, but payment is usually delayed until a settlement agreement is reached. This can be very confusing.
Victims often share excessive details with insurance adjusters, including personal information, recorded statements, and unlimited medical and employment authorizations. Those actions can lead to a settlement agreement that isn’t in the victim’s best interests and doesn’t cover all damages and losses.
Get Legal Advice & Help
If you’ve been involved in an accident and are dealing with an insurance adjuster, an experienced and reputable personal injury attorney can help. Your attorney will communicate and negotiate directly with claims adjusters while conducting a proper and thorough investigation. Most importantly, he/she will protect your rights.
Consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer before providing any information to an insurance claims adjuster. Never settle a personal injury claim without a full investigation and evaluation by a reputable personal injury lawyer – you only get one chance to do it right.
