Are you Required to Provide a Recorded Statement to an Insurance Company After an Accident?

If you are in an auto accident, you will usually be dealing with an insurance company representative. And if you sustained injuries, you may need to file a claim against the other party’s insurer.  

In order to make your case, whether an auto accident, a slip and fall, a dog bite, even a toxic exposure, it will be incumbent on you and your attorney to prove the other side was at-fault.  This requires the collection of evidence and notifying the other side before you sit down to the negotiating table.

It is at this time they you would be wise to add Chip Nix to your team to improve your chances of recovering what you are owed and to protect you from the other side who may hope that you don’t know the value of your claim.  

Sometimes, the insurance provider for the other side will try and convince you that you can go it alone and without representation.  After all, the payout will be the payout with or without an attorney and with a lawyer, you will just take home less.

That is what they tell you, but the truth is without representation, there are many pitfalls that can put a claimant at risk of ending up with a very low settlement or maybe nothing at all.

Minimize Your Claim

First of all, it is never a good idea to talk to the insurance adjuster on your own. They are there to minimize the payout by their company and not there to compensate you for lost wages, medical bills, the cost of rehabilitation, and other damages. They are not on your side.

The insurance adjuster may be a perfectly nice person and tell you they are working to have you compensated. In order to accomplish that, you need to make a recorded statement. This is a red flag. There is no requirement that you make a statement without representation and it does not speed up the claims process.  

Secondly, the adjuster may not be telling you the truth. Again, with the mandate of saving his company money, an insurance adjuster may minimize your claim and devalue its seriousness. Please understand that even a so-called “minor” injury can result in time off of work, pain, and suffering.  The insurance adjuster does not work for you, he works for Big Insurance. 

Making a Statement

Any statement you make without representation may be used against you. For example, let’s say you admit on camera that you had just adjusted the radio before the collision.

•  That could be turned around by the insurance adjuster to indicate that you were distracted. 

If you honestly say you do not feel pain at this moment.

• That could be used against you to indicate your pain is not as bad as you now say it is.

If you apologize for the accident because you are a polite person, not because you really believe you are at fault:

• The other side could say you admitted that you shared in the fault.  In Alabama, the doctrine of contributory negligence will serve as a bar to recover because the theory is that you contributed to your own injuries, no matter how badly you’ve been injured. The only exception is where there is wantonness or willfulness on behalf of the at-fault party.

Do not be fooled if you are told that if you reject the first claim, there will be no others. The nature of a negotiation is to discuss the value of your case based on the documentation you have collected.

This is why it is best to hire an experienced personal injury attorney who has seen these tactics before. You may not realize it that this is how the game is played. Mr. Nix understands how insurance company will work against you.

Your Personal Injury Lawyer in Montgomery, Alabama

Attorney Chip Nix has first-hand experience on the insurance industry’s tactics because he worked as a lawyer for the insurance companies for many years. He understands the ins and out of how they try to maximize profits, often as your expense. 

Chip Nix will be by your side when it comes to making a statement to the insurance adjuster to protect your rights. You will benefit from his decades of experience handling litigation for and against insurance companies.

Attorney Chip Nix serves not only the Montgomery area but all across the state of Alabama. Please contact Mr. Nix before you have any dealings with insurance companies. He can be reached at 334-279-7770.