Will My Personal Injury Lawyer Represent Me in Negotiations with My Own Insurance Carrier?

Dealing with insurance companies can be frustrating.  Following a motor vehicle accident, the headache of a combative or aggressive adjuster can exacerbate an already traumatic experience.  And, for many personal injury victims, the experience is all the more difficult because the adjuster involved works for the victim’s own insurance carrier.

What are Your Insurance Carrier’s Obligations to You, as an Insured?

No matter how loyal a customer you are or how many premium payments you have made, you can take it as a given that your insurance company wants to limit the amount that it pays on your claim.  As businesses, they want to save money any way they can, including denying or limiting claims.  They may not deny, ignore, or limit claims arbitrarily, though.

Under Ohio law, your insurance carrier has a duty to act in good faith when evaluating, handling, or paying your claim.  If your insurance carrier denies your claim without reasonable justification or ignores your claim, they may be acting in bad faith.  In some instances, an insurer may be deemed to have acted in bad faith even when the insurer ultimately gave in and paid an insured’s claim.

So, for example, imagine you are injured in a motor vehicle accident and make a claim for coverage under your liability policy’s uninsured/underinsured coverage.  Your insurance carrier is not automatically prohibited from denying your claim.  But, if they do, they must have a reasonable justification for doing so.  Otherwise, they would be acting in bad faith and could be sued for compensatory damages, punitive damages, interest, and additional damages.

Will My Personal Injury Lawyer Represent Me in Negotiations with My Own Insurance Carrier?

In addition to pursuing negligent third parties, an experienced personal injury lawyer will negotiate with your insurance carrier on your behalf.  Not only will this allow you to focus on the health and well-being of yourself and your family, but it will also help ensure that your insurance carrier evaluates your claim in good faith and timely pays any compensation you are owed. 

If you or a loved one have been injured, you are not alone.  Call the Cleveland, Ohio personal injury lawyers at Lowe Scott Fisher Co., LPA to discuss your case.