How to Handle Calls From an Opposing Insurance Company

When you have been in an accident, be it a car crash or a slip and fall, you have the right to gather compensation for your injuries from the negligent party. However, you aren’t receiving compensation directly from their bank account, but rather, will receive it from their insurance company.

Once an accident is reported to the insurance company, they will begin their own investigation into it to determine what happened and who was at fault. Unfortunately, most insurance companies don’t care about the people they represent, but simply want to keep their own costs low. They employ a number of strategies to do this, including rather innocent ones like calling the opposing party.

If you have been receiving calls from the insurance company of the party responsible for your injuries, you may wonder how you should deal with them. The best answer, in this case, is to not deal with them at all.

Why the Opposing Insurance Company is Calling

By right, the opposing insurance company has the legal authority to call you, but you also have the legal authority to not answer their questions. What the opposing insurance company is trying to do when they call you is harvest more information that can help them keep costs low and give you less compensation for your injuries.

Even simply polite utterances like answering that you are fine when they ask how you are doing can be potential ammunition against your personal injury claim. It is for this reason that it is typically better to just not take their calls at all.

What to Do When The Opposing Insurance Company Calls?

When the insurance company opposite your case calls, it is in your best interests to not take their calls. They may say they only have a few questions, but the answers you give to those questions can do big damage to your case. When they call, you shouldn’t just ignore them, but rather you should tell them to call your own insurance company or your personal injury attorney. Both parties will have all the details they could possibly need and both parties know how to deal with the various tricks and techniques that insurance adjusters like to wield to keep their costs low.

While not recommended, if you do decide to talk with the opposing insurance company, keep the following in mind.

• Keep Personal Details to a Minimum – Name, address, and phone number are all fine, but if they start to pry beyond that, do not give out more information.
• Avoid Injury Talk – Talking about your injuries may seem normal, but often injuries can grow more serious than they initially were. By telling the insurance adjuster you just had a sprain when it turns out to be a broken bone, they can use this against you later.
• Stick to the Facts – They may want to talk about the accident, and it is crucial that you don’t speculate. Stick to the things that you know for certain such as the date and location. Even describing how the accident occurred opens you up to potentially hurtful details.
• Decline Recording – Insurance adjusters cannot record you without permission, and you don’t have to give it. By being recorded, you are giving a concrete, lasting statement. It is not in your best interests.

Need Help?

If you have been in an accident, dealing with insurance is easily the most difficult part. However, if you want to get the compensation that you need for your injuries as the result of an accident, contact us today so the Law Office of Freeman & Freeman can help you navigate this difficult time.