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Car Accident Insurance Claims

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Car Accident Insurance Claims

40+ Years of Helping People Get Their Car Accident Insurance Claims Paid

Car insurance companies are in the business of protecting their customers from financial loss should their insured be involved in a car accident that causes serious personal injury and/or major property damage.  Particularly after a car accident, it is very difficult to deal with an insurance carrier and get a fair resolution of a claim even when the insured is to blame for the accident.

Alan Sackrin, a Broward County car accident trial attorney, has dealt with insurance companies for over 40 years and is accustomed to their tactics, like:

1. Lowball Settlement Offers

When there has been a car accident, automobile insurance carriers are known to make lowball offers to victims, especially when the accident involves a rear-end accident, the victim is representing themselves, the victim has a pre-existing injury, the injury relates to a disc herniation or where the victim has not been completely truthful.

2. Denied Claims

Often with car accident claims, the insurance company will deny that its policy covers the accident because liability is in dispute or the victim waited to seek medical attention. Waiting to seek medical care, allows the insurance company to question if a person’s injuries are a result of the accident.

Related: Did Your Car Insurance Company Deny Coverage?

How Do Car Insurance Companies Respond To Claims?

What to Do Right Now After a Car Accident in Florida

If you were just in a car accident in Florida, insurance companies move fast — their adjusters are already working your claim. The steps you take in the next 24 hours protect your ability to recover fair compensation.

  • 1. Get medical attention immediately, even if you feel fine. Adrenaline masks pain. Whiplash, herniated discs, and concussions may not surface for hours or days. A gap in treatment gives the insurance company an argument that you were not seriously hurt.
  • 2. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company. You are not required to. Anything you say will be used to minimize your claim. Speak with an attorney first.
  • 3. Document everything at the scene. Photograph the vehicles, the road, traffic signs, skid marks, and any visible injuries. Get the names and contact information of all witnesses.
  • 4. Report the accident to your own insurance company. Florida is a no-fault state. Your PIP coverage pays first, up to $10,000, but you must seek treatment within 14 days to activate it.
  • 5. Do not sign anything before speaking with an attorney. Settlement offers made in the days after an accident are almost always far below what your case is worth. Once you sign a release, your claim is closed permanently.

Florida’s statute of limitations for car accident claims is two years from the date of the accident. Do not wait. Call Alan for a free consultation.

Important Deadline: Florida’s statute of limitations for personal injury cases is two years from the date of injury. If you miss this deadline, you permanently lose the right to sue regardless of how strong your case is. Call Alan Sackrin at (954) 458-8655 for a free consultation.

Insurance companies in Florida, as well as the rest of the United States, are created to make a profit; their efforts are focused on their bottom line, and keeping the amount of money paid each year in claims as low as possible. After all, in years where insurance carriers have been hit with large numbers of claims, they risk going out of business.

This causes insurance companies to train their agents and adjusters on how to deal with the large number of claims they receive on a daily basis. Their goal is always to keep the company management and ultimately their company shareholders happy: which is in conflict with providing compensation for injury victims. Sometimes, they may even go over the line so far that they are guilty of insurance bad faith.

All too often after a serious accident or car crash, insurance company adjusters appear on the scene and are on the job, aggressively attempting to resolve claims quickly – particularly if there has been a tragic fatality. Fast settlements of serious injury accidents and wrongful death claims are seldom in the injury victim’s best interests.

Alan’s Tip: Insurance employees, no matter how friendly and nice, are not looking out for the injured person’s best interests: please be aware of this at all times (are you being recorded?). This is especially true after the 2012 PIP Reforms, where Insurance Company Fraud Specialists are allowed to put you under oath and interrogate you (and it’s up to you to get a lawyer to be present during questioning here).

Related: How To Get And Pay For Medical Care After A Car Accident (From Our Blog)

What Are The Different Types of Florida Car Accident Insurance Coverage?

Many car accident victims will only deal with their own insurance company after a car accident. That’s because Florida is a no-fault state. Meaning, your own insurance policy, under your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, will pay for your damages up to a maximum of $10,000.00. 

PIP Insurance in Florida – Reforms Passed After Widespread Car Accident Fraud

The Florida Legislature changed Florida’s car accident insurance laws because of the number of fraudulent (staged) car accidents.  To stop this wrongdoing, the Florida PIP Insurance requirements were changed by Florida lawmakers.

PIP Reforms mean that in the State of Florida:

  • There is a fourteen (14) day deadline to get medical care and see a doctor after an accident;
  • Only approved healthcare providers will be covered by PIP insurance;
  • PIP-approved health care coverage is limited to an “emergency medical condition”;
  • Some healthcare providers are no longer covered by PIP insurance coverage (e.g., acupuncturists).
  • While claimants can be put under oath and questioned by a Fraud Specialist, PIP Reform does not provide that these claimants get a lawyer to protect their rights during this questioning of their medical care.

Medical Payments Related to Car Accidents: What is Med Pay?

In Florida, “Med Pay” is a separate coverage that you can purchase to cover 100% of any medical bills and some lost wages.  Med Pay covers things not paid for by PIP insurance or health insurance policies, and it generally pays without consideration as to who was at fault.

What is Bodily Injury (BI) Insurance?

If you are the at-fault driver, bodily injury (BI) coverage pays a victim (the other driver, pedestrian or passenger) for their medical expenses and lost income as a result of their injuries. It also can pay for your legal defense.

Bodily injury liability coverage is subject to a limit, which is the maximum amount your car insurance policy will pay toward a claim. Bodily injury liability coverage normally has two sets of limits: a per-person limit and a per-accident limit.

Related: Pain and Suffering Claims Under Florida Law (From Our Blog)

Quick Florida Car Accident Facts:

According to the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles, for example, in 2009 statewide there were 20,085 alcohol related traffic accidents resulting in 1,004 deaths and 14,130 injuries. Additionally, damages from auto crashes total $150 billion annually because compensation for a car accident, in most cases, includes recovery of medical expenses, property damage, lost wages and lost earning potential, pain and suffering, disfigurement, loss of consortium and emotional distress. 

 

Want to Know More?

Since 1982, Alan Sackrin has represented clients throughout Florida in recovering monetary damages for car accident injuries. Alan is a Board Certified Civil Trial Expert that strives to maximize the amount of compensation his clients’ receive for their car accident insurance claim.  Alan brings a high-level of skill, experience and knowledge to his client’s car accident cases and he offers a free initial consultation.

Learn more about Alan, an expert car accident lawyer, by clicking here.

 

See: Sample Case Verdicts and Settlements

 

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