Personal Injury And Insurance Companies

What will insurance companies do for you? What are their obligations? Clients often assume that their insurers will simply “take care of them” with their best interests in mind, but this perception is often based on clever advertising campaigns which may promise too much and ultimately leave clients disappointed.

The unfortunate truth is that a majority of personal injury clients only seek legal representation after a disappointing experience with their own insurance adjuster/s. This is often due to exaggerated, misunderstood or unreasonable expectations regarding the roles of both the insurance company and its adjusters, and can (and often does) cause financial problems for clients.

Personal injury clients must understand that insurers only do what they are contractually obligated to do; in this case, the contract is the client’s insurance policy. However, these insurers still interpret contracts in the ways that are most favorable for their companies and cost as little money as possible. Added to which is the infamous difficulty of interpreting such contracts, which consist of complex statutory requirements and carefully-crafted language throughout to help potential actions and decisions work out in favor of the insurance company, and a wide array of coverage plans which are difficult for clients to understand without help from experienced independent agents.

Under insurance contracts, insurers will not file DMV forms for clients, nor will they obtain a “bodily injury recovery” or help prove a case against an adverse driver unless it is of financial benefit to them. Even when they defend clients who are sued (if they’re unable to deny coverage beforehand), the lawyer provided will be overwhelmed with a high number of cases and may have no particular concern for individual clients.

By both case law and contractual obligations, insurers owe a duty of care only to their own policy-holders and not to claimants. Furthermore, claimants cannot sue adverse insurance companies for delay, low-balling or inadequate investigation. The bottom line is that insurers are on a constant mission to reduce internal costs and, unfortunately, this is often done by reducing what is paid to clients. And how do insurance companies get away with so much? Juries in court are often unwilling to award the proper damages. And why would they when their insurers promised to be there every step of the way? Personal injury clients must beware of deceitful advertising, understand the adversarial nature of the claims process, and always allow significant claims to be handled by experienced advocates with vast, wide-ranging knowledge of insurance and the insurance industry.

If you’ve been injured in an accident, contact 844 See Mike for a free consultation. We are a Chicago-based injury law firm representing individuals (and their families) who have suffered an injury in an accident. We will handle your case quickly and advise you every step of the way, and we will not hesitate to go to trial for you.

Lastly, 844 See Mike is not paid attorney’s fees unless we win your case. Our no-fee promise is that simple. You have nothing to risk when you hire us – only the opportunity to seek justice.