Most insurance companies operate like businesses by saving as much money as possible. This often leads to offering less compensation and wrongfully denying car accident claims. You may not have to let this happen to you if you suspect bad faith insurance tactics are being used against you. Reach out to a Kansas City car accident attorney to learn more about what steps you can take to defend your claim.
Insurance Company Tactics
There are multiple insurance tactics used by insurance agents to deny or delay car accident claims. Some of these tactics might be considered bad faith. If you suspect bad faith tactics have been used, you might be able to sue for more car accident compensation.
Common Bad Faith Strategies
- Delay the claim until the statute of limitations runs out. A common technique is to delay a claim until the person either gives up or the statute of limitations runs out of time. This can happen without the person filing the claim even realizing it. Be aware of the statute of limitations in Kansas City for car accident claims to prevent this from happening to you. If there is no rational reason for the delay, you might be dealing with bad faith insurance tactics.
- Deny claims for insufficient reasons. A red flag is when the insurance agent avoids answering questions or addressing concerns related to this. Insurance agents who cannot provide a clear reason for why your claim was denied could be practicing bad faith insurance.
- Trick you into signing documentation. Some insurance companies will trick people into signing away their rights to compensation by using documents with confusing language. They will use technical jargon that even lawyers with years of experience would struggle to understand. Be wary of signing anything without contacting a Kansas City car accident lawyer first.
How to Defend Your Car Accident Claim
You can defend your car accident claim by bringing up your concerns to the insurance agent or insurance company supervisor. However, if they really are trying to use bad faith tactics to save money, they may use additional tactics to achieve this goal. They have their own legal team and may use this against you.
This is when hiring a car accident lawyer can help. If the insurance company offers you less compensation than you need to recover from the accident, a lawyer can help. An experienced lawyer can help you maximize your compensation.
Lawyers are trained to detect bad faith insurance practices. When hired, your lawyer could figure out what bad faith tactics are being used against you and can address these with the insurance company. If negotiations fail, your lawyer could help you take legal action with mediation, arbitration, or a personal injury lawsuit.