Should I call my insurance if I was not at fault?

When clients come into my office, they’re often nervous about whether they did or did not call their insurance company, and in this video, I want to discuss the parameters of whether or not you should call and when you should call. 

Before getting into when you should call and whether you should call, let’s first make sure we understand the insurance company’s role in this. They are a for-profit business as a general rule and how do businesses make a profit. And how do businesses make a profit? They increase their revenue and they decrease their expenses. Paying claims to you or anybody else is an expense, and as such, they are motivated to reduce those expenses and pay you as little as possible. So when you call an insurance company, you need to be sure and be aware that they’re not necessarily on your side. They’re on the side of reducing their expenses whoever’s side that happens to be.

One of the good things about calling your insurance company sooner than later is they can actually be your advocate in the process. If you contact them in a questionable situation, your adjuster is likely going to reach out to the other side and hopefully will get them to give a recorded statement which we can use against that person later on. Just like they’re trying to get a recorded statement from the other side, you need to be sure to not give one on your side without first speaking with an attorney. So while you should be very wary of the insurance company getting information from you, there is nothing wrong with turning them on to the other side to get the information that is beneficial to you from the other side. 

Another reason to contact your insurance company early on has to do with property damage. Technically speaking, if the other side’s at fault, the other side’s insurance company should pay for the repair or replacement of your vehicle. However, sometimes those insurance companies are particularly slow or adversarial, and if you go to your insurance company, you may be able to get that claim resolved sooner. The downside of going to your insurance company is you may have to pay a deductible first. However, if the insurance company can recover any money from the other side, your deductible is the first expense reimbursed. So from a practical standpoint getting your car repaired or replaced sooner a lot of times, it is better to go through your insurance company as long as you don’t mind being out the deductible for an abbreviated period of time. 

A couple of big cautions to you, though, in speaking with your insurance company about the mechanics of the accident and your bodily injury. Despite what the ads say, they are not on your side. They are on the side of minimizing their exposure. So when you describe the accident to them, if there is any doubt or dispute as to liability, you really should not have that conversation at all until you’ve spoken with an attorney to make sure you understand the law and what facts are beneficial to you. You’re not going to want to change your story, but how you present the story can make a big difference. 

Likewise, you don’t want to talk to the other insurance company or even your insurance company about your bodily injuries until you’ve completely resolved and until you’ve had a chance to talk to an attorney about the value of those claims. Insurance companies will use words to minimize your car accident injury and get you to be agreeable to those words, and that’s going to make it harder later on down the road to make those claims. Likewise, a common ploy in the current environment is for an insurance company to offer you a modest amount of money right out of the blocks to sign a waiver before you’ve finished treatment and realize that you have a more serious injury. If you sign a waiver, it’s probably binding, and as a result, you probably waived your case. 

When thinking about whether to contact your insurance company, it’s always important to remember the big picture. They’re a for-profit company that wants to reduce their risk, and one way to reduce their risk is by getting words that are hurtful to you or unhelpful to your injury claim. Be very cautious about calling any insurance company about your claim without talking to an attorney first if you have any concerns about liability and who’s at fault. Likewise, do not contact any insurance company, your own or the other side’s to discuss your physical injuries until you’ve completely healed and had a chance to speak with an attorney about the value of those claims.