Claims Adjuster

Have you ever seen an instance where an insurance company technically didn't HAVE to pay a claim, but they did so for compassionate reasons?

Asked by bearish over 11 years ago

Hi Bearish!

Truthfully, I had to think on this one for a while. To provide some context: I was nearly positive that I did have an example for you from my non-injury liability days, but you get soooo many claims in that department that I just can't remember the details of all of them (on average: 5-10 new claims a day). I wracked my brain over the weekend, asked some of my colleagues, but I couldn't think of a perfect example for you. This was as close as I could get:

As you may know, most auto insurance companies offer towing and labor (like a AAA membership) as an optional coverage on their personal lines policies. I had a claim in which my insured got a flat tire on her BMW, and used her towing coverage to get the vehicle moved to a shop where they could replace the tire. (Sidenote: we do not personally own an armada of towing trucks; most insurance companies contract out to local towing companies) However, when she went to pick up her vehicle the next day she felt that the tow truck ride had damaged the front bumper of her vehicle, so she filed a second claim for collision damages. Well collision coverage (almost) always has a deductible amount that you are responsible for. You can imagine her immediate outrage when she was informed that she would have to pay her deductible in order to get her vehicle fixed. When she explained her situation, we did do additional investigation to confirm or deny whether the damage to her vehicle was in fact caused by the tow. Among other things, we had a material damage adjuster (i.e. the  guy who writes the estimates for repairs when you file a claim for either collision or comprehensive damage) go out and look at her vehicle. His determination, as well as the body shop's, was that the damage was old damage. It was not fresh. However, in order to maintain positive customer relations, we waived her collision deductible for her.

I have also had claims in which we have afforded coverage even though technically the insured did not have it at the time of the loss. This usually results from a determined mistake on our part, whether it was through the agent or one of our call centers, you name it. If we can determine that the insured should have had the coverage/would have had the coverage if not for our screw up, then in my experience we will retroactively afford said coverage.

Just remember! Every claim is different, every company is different! There are rarely any absolutes!
 

Hope this answers your question!

 

What's the most underhanded trick in an insurance company's playbook?

Asked by 7estelle over 11 years ago

Hi 7estelle!

To be honest I don't know what you mean. Insurance is a highly regulated industry. We don't really have the ability to be 'underhanded'. Allow me to refer to my answer to shogunn's question on 4/7/2013. Because insurance is a contract of adhesion, the ball is in our court to set the terms of the policy, and because of that we better make those terms clear! If we don't, it's a huge money and time suck to go to court, and we wanna avoid that as much as possible. And once you sign on the dotted line, you are bound to pay your premium just as we are bound to provide you up to the limits on your policy in the event of a covered loss (another biz term for you: this concept is deemed aleatory, meaning exchange is not equal, i.e. the amount you pay in premium is waaaaay lower than the amount of coverage we offer). 

Basically, insurance adjusters are pretty straighforward people. The nature of our job and the service we provide doesn't allow for much wiggle room, whether on our end or yours. To prevent any misunderstanding between you and your insurance company, I highly recommend reading through your policy language, with an agent or an informed party, so that you truly understand what you're paying for.

What percentage of claims get denied? What's usually the reason for them getting denied?

Asked by JSB over 11 years ago

That's a sticky question because claims adjusters don't attach the same meaning to that term that you might. When I 'deny' a claim, it's most likely because there is no coverage available for the insured, usually because their policy is cancelled or they don't have the necessary coverage on their policy.

Examples:

1) You file a claim for damage to your vehicle that was caused by a hail storm. This damage is specifically covered under "comprehensive coverage". When I review the coverages on your policy, if you opted to not have comprehensive on your policy, then there would be no applicable coverage, and then I would (sadly!) deny it.

2) Let's say that you are unable to make one of your payments (whether monthly or every 6 months, however you have it arranged) for your car insurance. Most insurance companies allow a lengthy time period past your due date that you can make a late payment and not lose your coverage. Let's say that you still aren't able to make your payment, and you get a notice from your insurance that your policy has cancelled effective 1/1/2013. Let's then assume that you rear end another car on 1/2/2013. 9 times out of 10, it wouldn't matter if you make a payment immediately afterwards and got your policy re-instated. You would still most likely have a lapse in coverage and would not be covered for that loss.

There is also the issue of fraud, i.e. you lied to us. If we find out and are able to prove it, then yeah, we're probably gonna deny your claim. 

In my tenure, I've denied probably less than 5% of the claims I've received. Our mantra in the biz is to do everything we can to find coverage for our insureds. I swear it's true!

Do you ever personally feel bad for the people whose claims you have to deny, even though it's your job?

Asked by pam.stafford.gmail over 11 years ago

I would say 75% of the time, yes, because I think a lot of people just don't understand the basics of insurance: what and how much coverage you should have and how the claims process works. I myself didn't know jack about insurance before I started working in the industry. The ones I feel worst about are claims involving a delivery driver. A lot of people don't realize this, but if you work as a delivery driver (pizza, newspapers or magazines, whatever!) and you get in an accident, most of the time you will not have coverage for that loss. It's an exclusion that's written into a lot of personal lines auto policies. And we're talking a denial on both damage to your car and damage to the other person's car, if you're at fault.

But the other 25% of the time, I don't feel bad, because those claims are with people who try to cheat the system, and I just personally don't like that. Another example for you:

I had a claim where the insured had chips in the windshields of both of his jaguars. He filed a comprehensive claim on both (because that's the coverage that applies to glass damage!), not remembering that he had just taken that coverage off of his policy a couple weeks before the loss. So I broke the unfortunate news to him. He didn't really say anything and hung up on me in midsentence. 

2 days later, he filed another 2 comprehensive claims. I got those claims as well since I just handled the previous two. And wouldn't you know it, he had just added comp back onto his policy. This is what he told me: That he paid to get those chips fixed out of his own pocket, and then after he added the appropriate coverage back on, dawggonnit if they didn't get chipped again! And when I asked for proof of payment on the previous chips (because crazier things have happened!) he told me that he paid cash and didn't get a receipt. Then I asked who repaired them so we could verify with them... oh he didn't know their name and didn't have their number..... so yeah....

Unfortunately we ended up paying this claim. We just didn't have sufficient evidence to deny it. But! When we do have enough evidence to deny the claim, I don't feel particularly bad about it, because well, the person lied to us!

Anyways, hope this answers your question!

Do you have a set schedule for how to compensate for the loss of bodyparts? Like a foot is $2M, a finger is $300,000, paralysis is $1.5M, etc?

Asked by BRIEYO over 11 years ago

The short answer? No. Every claim is taken on a case by case basis.

And now, a longer answer for you! The injury claims I handle are Florida specific and coverage specific. As I'm sure you can imagine, insurance is an extremely complicated and red-tape heavy business, so any time you file a claim you're almost guaranteed to talk to at least 3 different adjuster, all of which handle different aspects of the claim. Me, for example, I handle Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. This is your primary injury coverage if you're injured in an accident and you are insured in the state of Florida (Kentucky and Maryland and Texas have this coverage as well, but it is a state-dictated coverage, so the rules are different for each state, depending on the statute on the books). 9 times of out 10, the max limit for this coverage in $10,000. Now, if you're talking about a lost limb, that 10k is going to exhaust almost immediately. Once that coverage is exhausted, I'm done with the claim.

Now, lets say you got rear ended by a drunk driver and are paralyzed from the waist down as a result. That's what we would call a 'large loss' claim, i.e. you're never getting to your pre-accident physical condition, and you will be affected by this injury the rest of your life. If the drunk driver who hit you has insurance, once your PIP exhausts you then go to their Bodily Injury (or BI) coverage. Given the severity of the injury, it's common that that coverage will exhaust as well. Then, if you have Bodily Injury for Un or Underinsured Motorists (or BIUM) on your own policy, then you head that direction next. 

In a nutshell, dollar amounts for injuries like that are estimated with several factors in mind: the degree of the injury, the degree of the recovery, the age and physical condition of the injured person prior to the accident, how the injury will affect the rest of their life/work/ etc. 

I'd like to give you straight answer, BRIEYO, but as you can see, I can't, because it just depends on too many factors. But I hope that cleared up the process of settling an injury claim for you a little bit!

Do you work solely with auto-related claims, or all kinds of other claims?

Asked by slowgrind over 11 years ago

Nowadays, yes. I handle injury claims that arise from auto accidents (whether the party in question is a driver or passenger in a vehicle, or a pedestrian or bicyclist hit by a vehicle) in the state of Florida.

However, prior to this position I work in non-injury liabilty claims. Still mostly auto accidents, but I did get the occasional property liability claim. During that tenure I handled claims in 7 states in the southeast: Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Thanks for popping my question cherry slowgrind! 

Will your employer scrutinize your work if they think you're approving too many claims? Surely they must have an idea of the approx percentage of claims that get denied for legitimate reasons, so do they use that to monitor adjusters?

Asked by Derelict over 11 years ago

Hi Derelict,

Like most industries our work is regularly evaluated and monitored by management. The computer program in which I handle claims has an automated notification system for my manager to follow up on my files every once and a while (injury claims stay open a pretty long time, non injury ones usually close relatively quickly).

In addition to that regular follow up system, once a quarter my manager randomly selects a handful of my previously closed files and reviews them for what my company calls "best claims practices". Basically she reviews my stuff to make sure I did everything I was supposed to. Aaaand then we'll have a meeting to discuss them, compliment sandwich style, if ya knowwaddamean :)

Hope this answers your question!

Thanks for answering my first question and for doing this Q&A! Do insurance companies ever hire private investigators to spy on a person to see if he's just faking his injury to get a settlement?

Asked by Jackie over 11 years ago

Hi Jackie!

As far as I know (I've only worked for 1 insurance company to date), most insurance companies have a special invesigation unit for claims in which they suspect foul play of some sort. This unit is usually comprised of retired police officers, detectives, that kind of thing. If an insurance company suspects that a claimant is exaggerating or faking an injury, I have heard of the adjuster referring the claim to that special unit to do surveillance on the claimant to see how their supposed injury truly affects them when they go about their day to day business. Have I every had a claim like that? no. But I have heard of it.

Even though I assume insurance companies can't charge different rates to people of different races, are stats kept internally on that stuff, and care to share to confirm / dispel some, um, common stereotypes?

Asked by TonyTony over 11 years ago

Hey Tonytony!

I, personally, have never heard of that. The premium a driver is charged is determined by a myriad of factors: the state they live in, their driving history, whether they have a loan out on their vehicle, among many other  things. 

And as far as stereotypes go, in auto accidents I don't believe in them anymore, haha. Sometimes everyone's a crappy driver.

Is that explanation Ed Norton's character gives in Fight Club about how car makers determine whether they'll do a vehicle recall accurate? (That they'll leave an unsafe car on the road if the recall would cost more than paying the injury claims?)

Asked by 1strule over 11 years ago

Hi 1strule,

As much as I hate to admit it: I have absolutely no idea. I've only ever handled personal lines insurance claims, and it sounds like this one falls totally outside my area of experience. I would imagine an adjuster who works in commercial claims would have a better idea of whether or not thats true, but all my colleagues are in the same boat as me.

My gut tells me, however, that that is either exaggerated or totally false. Injury claims are biiiiiiggggg liabilities, whether its a personal or commercial auto policy.

Are there some cases where NO ONE'S at fault? Say an airplane part falls from the sky, a car swerves to avoid it, and hits another car. Complete freak accident / no way to foresee. Does the US insurance system REQUIRE the assignment of SOME fault?

Asked by Tif718 over 11 years ago

The short answer? It depends...

This is where you get into the territory of difference of opinion between adjusters. Some would say that even though it's not that first car's fault that some random object same into their path, they were still negligent in that they failed to maintain control of their vehicle and hit the other car. And how would you feel if you were in that second car? There you are just driving along when this other car comes out of nowhere and damages your vehicle. And if the adjuster assigned to your claim says, well, in this case no one's at fault, it was a freak accident, you're still stuck using your collision coverage to get your vehicle fixed, and you still have to pay your deductible, even though you contributed in no way to this accident!

That being said, there are some claims in which no one is at fault, but these are claims that usually fall under comprehensive coverage: you hit a deer, or hail damages your vehicle. When a claim like that is assigned to us we don't label any party at fault (although I have jokingly assigned 100% fault to the deer before. Oh that's right, we're a bunch of cut-ups in the insurance biz, haha). But as you may have gleaned, neither of those examples involve 2 vehicles.

Now that I think of it, there is one other example I can give you: it's called the 'act of God' defense. This doctrine usually applies to property claims: i.e. a big ass storm comes through your 'hood, and a tree on your property falls into your neighbor's yard and damages their fence/shed/whatever. When that claim gets filed with your insurance, we work to determine whether that tree was healthy prior to it falling, and if it was diseased, whether you as the insured knew it and neglected to take care of the hazard on your property. If that tree had green leaves, was totally healthy, then we would deny liability to your neighbor's damage. In short, it was an "act of God" that that tree fell, there was no way to foresee on the insured's part.

 

Hope this answers your question!

What are some tips that can save people money on their car insurance that aren't widely known?

Asked by dipsy over 11 years ago

Hi Dipsy!

The cost of your car insurance depends on a whole lotta factors: the state you live in, where in that state you live (urban, suburban, rural), the kind of vehicle you drive, your driving history and the history of any other listed driver on your policy. 

The best I can say is, don't lie on your application. Bad, bad idea. If you do, you risk the insurance company finding out if/when you file a claim, and then you would be investigated for "Material Misrepresentation". What that means: whether knowingly or not, you misrepresented yourself as an applicant to the insurance company, and because of that they were not able to appropriately assess your premium. Exampes I've seen: not listing a resident relative as a driver on your policy because mayhaps they have a really bad driving record; not telling us you're married: a lot of times that'll save you money!; saying that you live in a different state: As you can imagine, insurance in Florida and New York is extremely expensive. Some people will claim they live in Georgia, or Jersey, so they can get cheaper rates. Don't do that!

If the insurane company confirms that a Material Misrepresentation has occurred, they can cancel your policy for the entire period you had it, pay back all your premium, and you would not have coverage for the claim that you filed. And in a lot of cases, its extremely difficult to get another insurance policy after that kind of fiasco, and sometimes its even more expensive!

If there's a rear-end collision, is the driver in the back automatically liable? Can "the guy in front of me stopped too suddenly" ever be a legitimate excuse?

Asked by JessP over 11 years ago

Well, I can never say 100% YES, every single time! But honestly? 99 times out 100, yeah, I've assigned 100% liability to the rear vehicle. Why? Well, because technically if you were maintaining a safe distance for conditions, you should have been able to stop in time to avoid the collision. What if the guy in front of the front car stopped suddenly? And they were able to stop but you were not? 

Hope this helps JessP!

When two drivers both do something wrong - let's say one runs a red light, but the other guy is driving 100mph, who is at fault? Don't some States have a system where you're not allowed to divvy fault up, but it's all or nothing by law?

Asked by DomNJ over 11 years ago

Hi DomNJ! What you're talking about is a negligence doctrine, which varies by state. In the state of Florida (as well as Kentucky and Mississippi) we have whats called "pure comparative": after a liability adjuster completes their investigation, they divide up fault by percents (although a lot of the time it's 100% one person's fault or the other, or 50/50) In Florida, what percentage you're found NOT at fault, thats the amount of your damages you can get back (or subrogate) from the other party (usually via their insurance company). So, lets say that you are in an accident in which you're found 50% at fault. This means that you can get back 50% of your damages back from the other insurance company (50% of your deductible, and then your insurance company can pursue to get 50% back of what they paid to repair your car). 

here are some other negligence doctrines:

Contributory: Alabama. If you contributed at all, even 1%! to the accident, you are barred from recovering any of your damages. Sorry, Charlie.

"Not as great as": Geogia, Tennessee, Arkansas: If you are 50% or more at fault, you're outta luck. 49% or lower though, and you can pursue for reimbursement.

Those are the main ones I'm familiar with from working in the southeast,

Hope this answers your question!

i was in a eating in a business and a guest tripped and fell on my table,the table broke and the table and the customer fell on me at the time i thought i was ok but now im hurting can the establishment be liable for my medical and my clothes

Asked by janet over 11 years ago

Hi Janet,

Possibly? I honestly don't know for sure, since I only handled auto claims and personal property claims (no commercial). Depending on how long it took you to feel any pain and whether or not you've sought treatment for any injuries, you may be able to request reimbursement for medical costs. 

Seems to be a lot of confusion between what people are covered for vs. what they *think* they're covered for. How much of this do you think is caused by customers' ignoring of the fine print, vs. insurance policies being really confusing/unclear?

Asked by shogunn over 11 years ago

Hi shogunn!

In my opinion it's 50/50. As I've said before, insurance is a complicated business. Our contract language is admittedly pretty dry. Here's the main reason why: One of the aspects of an insurance contract is that it is a contract of adhesion. This basically means that we, as the insurer, write the terms of the contract and you, as the insured, do not have the ability to negotiate that language. In layman's terms, you take it or leave it (this is not the same as choosing the limits of your coverage, which of course you have control over). Now, although watching a snail push an acorn may be more interesting than reading through your policy documents, if you pulled up your current auto contract and read it, you may notice that we actually try to make it as unvague as possible. Why? In the event that we deny a claim and you, as the insured, think... well, that it's bullshit, you can file a 'bad faith' claim against your insurance company, and basically take us to court. Now, who do you think the judge will favor in this instance? The big company that wrote the contract? Or you, the insured, who had to 'take it or leave it'? Having vague policy language has caused insurance companies in the past to pay out a LOT of damage in lost 'bad faith' cases, so it's a constant battle to make the language as CLEAR as possible. Unfortunately, we have yet to find a way to turn our contract into a veritable page turner.

For those shopping for insurance: this is where agents can come in handy. They can break down for you exactly what covers what pretty well, so you have at least a basic understanding of what coverage you should have on your policy. Or you can ask me! 

To conlude, in my personal opinion, at the end of the day insurance is a contract. Why would you not try to understand the details before you sign on the dotted line?

Is the "jump in front of delivery vehicle / sue his employer" scam still popular?

Asked by TonyTony over 11 years ago

Hey again TonyTony!

Haha, again, I've never heard of that. I've never had a claim like that. In my experience, delivery drivers (if you're talking about pizza/newspapers/that kind of thing) don't usually have insurance through their employers.

I always wondered whether I could leave my car in a bad neighborhood with the keys still in it and then file a claim when it inevitably gets stolen. It technically DID get stolen, right? Even though I kind of "facilitated" it.

Asked by jofredab over 11 years ago

Hi Jofredab! Sorry it's taken me so long to answer your question; for some reason the insurance biz has been busy lately!

Here's the rub with your particular example: intentional act. Most personal lines insurance policies have an exclusion for first party coverages (collision, comprehensive) and third party coverages (property damage, bodily injury) f it is discovered that the loss was some how intended by the insured. (Much like how suicide is often an exclusion for benefits on a life insurance policy). Another example that I actually have seen before:

Lets say you are in a very um... for lack of a better word, volatile romantic relationship. Lets say that you cheat on your significant other, or they suspect you of cheating, it doesn't really matter, the point is, they're PISSED. And in order to get some kind of carthartic revenge, they take a crowbar to your benz. Now, to get your car fixed you file a comprehensive claim on your auto insurance, and they take care of it. How do they get your money back? 

Under normal circumstances (ie, it was an accident in the true sense of the word), your insurance company would file a claim on your spurned lover's insurance and pursue that company for reimbursement (or subrogation as we call it). But this kind of claim would most likely be denied, as it was an intentional act. So instead, your insurance company refers the claim to an external collections agency to pursue the tortfeasor personally.

Bottom line is, don't lie to your insurance company. Never a good idea.

 

Hope this answers your question!

What responsibilities do witnesses to an accident have? If I see a car crash, do I have a legal responsibility to wait around for the cops? What if one of the reasons the crash happened was because a car was swerving to avoid me?

Asked by Tyalor over 11 years ago

As far as I know (remember, I ain't a lawyer!), witnesses do not have any responsibility to stay at an accident scene to talk with the police. Do I think it's a good idea? Yeah. You, as an unbiased party, can either defend or refute a driver's description of what happened. As you can imagine, sometimes people are less then honest in terms of admitting fault at the scene, so it definitely helps a liability adjuster determine fault if they've got your information and can get a statement from you.

If an accident happened because a vehicle was trying to avoid you, then I would answer your question with another question: What were you doing wrong?? ; ) lol, j/k. But seriously, if you think you contributed to an accident, what does the good samaritan in you think is the right thing to do? Yeah, you know...

Is working in insurance fun? What type of personality do you think is the best fit for what you do?

Asked by Jackie over 11 years ago

Well, Jackie, if I'm being honest? NO! It's boring, repetitive and stressful. Afterall, what 5 year old says, 'When I grow up, I wanna be a CLAIMS ADJUSTER! Yeeeaaaayy!' That being said, it takes all kinds to make the world go round. I work with people who have been with this particular company for decades, and they seem very content.

In Florida especially, there's a lot of problems with insurance fraud. I think someone who's detail oriented and very into the investigative nature of claims would thrive in this environment. And there is a certain part of me that does enjoy the customer service side of my job. I help people understand their coverages and provide them a sense of comfort during a very tumultuous experience. Car accidents are never convenient, and they are guaranteed to be stressful, so I do get a sense of satisfaction out of helping my insureds through the process. So if that floats your boat, you may enjoy my job too.

Hope this answers your question!

I have a collector car that has damage to the front bumper. The repair shop said the replacement stripes would not match the rest of the car due to age of the existing stripes on the hood and trunk. Should I be able to claim new stripes for the car?

Asked by Rob over 11 years ago

Hi Rob,

I know that collector cars often have specialty insurance policies due to their age and intrinsic value. I have not dealt with claims involving those kinds of policies, so I can merely speculate as to the specifics of what is covered. That being said, most of the time your auto insurance is not for claiming upkeep and/or maintenance on your vehicle. Usually you are only covered for damage to your vehicle that's caused by a 'covered loss', i.e. an accident involving another vehicle, fire/hail/water damage, etc. In most personal lines auto policies there is an exclusion for first party coverages (collision, comprehensive) if the auto is damaged due to wear and tear (also freezing, and damage as the result of a war, fun facts!). I would say that most likely that kind of upkeep is not covered under your auto policy, but you always wanna read through your policy documents just to be sure. Hope that helps!

Is "whiplash" an actual provable injury, or just something that people claim in lawsuits?

Asked by Denise over 11 years ago

Hi Denise,

Whiplash is a common (non-medical) term describing a range of injuries to the neck caused by sudden movement. It's not a diagnostic code as far as I know; usually the diagnosis is described as a 'cervical sprain/strain' or something like that. It's a common injury in rear-end accidents. For example, let's say you were sitting in traffic and a vehicle hit you in the back. Due to physics (or some other fancy science-y phenomenon.... my worst subject in school, can you tell?) you will always travel in the direction of the impact. That, in conjunction with a head rest that is not properly positioned behind your head, may cause your head to jerk back suddenly, and then forward again, thus causing a sudden, extreme movement of your neck, which can cause injury.

Hope this answers your question Denise!

This is regarding Florida No fault PIP coverage, I live in PA and just received Florida adjuster license. I am paying the $10,000 limit and need an exhaust letter to send with it. Do you know where I can find this and other FLorida PIP letters?

Asked by DEB over 11 years ago

Hi DEB, honestly I always used company written letters. I rarely crafted my own letters. Most companies have an in-house counsel that drafts our letters for us. Sorry!

I was involved in a minor accident using my husband's parents' car, under which he is covered. We also have another car under separate auto policy. The claims adjuster of my father-in-law's policy is asking me for my other auto policy number. Why?

Asked by Tina about 11 years ago

Hi Tina,

Most likely it's a required procedure on the part of the claims adjuster. You have it right that, as you were driving a car owned by your father-in-law, his insurance would be primary. For a minor accident (if it was determined that you were at fault), his coverage should be fine. However, there can be exceptions, including the following: Lets say that for whatever reason, your father-in-law's policy wasn't active on the date of loss. At that point the other person's insurance could pursue your insurance (since you were driving) for damages.

Although, most likely it is just a procedural thing: if a claims adjuster finds out that someone was driving your car that isn't listed on the policy, they tend to get more information to let our underwriters (our risk assessors) know, in case they need to adjust your premium. If you were a one time driver, it usually doesn't change anything on your father-in-law's policy. After all, you are generally allowed to let someone borrow your car (although I believe on some non-standard policies you aren't, but that's something you can confirm by looking at your own policy documents: most policies are standard; aka you can let someone borrow your car once and a while) However, if you began driving his car regularly, they may need to add you to his policy as a listed driver. 

Hope this answers your questions!

How often does your company get sued, and do you know how often they settle out of court?

Asked by Borat over 11 years ago

Honestly Borat, I just don't have access to that kind of info.  Those kinds of claims are handled by a special, highly experienced, unit, and they usually don't send company-wide emails about a suit's progress.

I can't say for sure, but I would guess that in most cases like that, both parties would rather settle out of court: it's just less expensive and time consuming.

Do claims adjusters go to the actual scene of an accident, or is it only the police who do that?

Asked by MissPink over 11 years ago

Hi MissPink!

To my knowledge, the first responders to an auto accident are always the police and/or medics. Claims adjusters rarely go to the actual scene of an accident. We may request photos if they are available, or utilize a bird's eye view of the area, if liability is in question. After all, when I handled non-injury auto claims, I worked in 7 states of the southeast, all from the (mild) comfort of my little cubicle!

I was rear ended by a drunk driver he was driving his girlfriend's car I was compensated from her insurance however he didn't have insurance so it fell under my uninsured motorist coverage my insurance wants to meet with me to discuss my injuries why

Asked by sal about 11 years ago

I have a 3rd party claim and adjuster sent me (under my name) a full & final check based on initial estimate. What happens if body shop finds more damages? Adjuster knew the shop where the car will be repaired and rental car is even set-up by them.

Asked by ALEXIS almost 11 years ago

the other party adjuster wants to settle for 50/50. but its was not our fault. what to do about disbuting it

Asked by cindy over 10 years ago

Can I claim damages for money I spent while in the hospital after a slip and fall for money spent to take care of my legally blind significant other - we've been together for 35 years.

Asked by Casey over 10 years ago

In 3 car chain accident in AZ. I was middle car. Driver hit me from behind. Their ins offering 50% for my car damages. Is this reasonable?

Asked by John almost 11 years ago

I were driving to drop my friend home when my my tire get flat went to curve and hit temporary sign. the damage is the front bumper and the front glass. will the insurence cover?

Asked by bobo1811 about 10 years ago

We are in the process of buying a house. During the inspection we became aware of several issues. The most troubling was the complete basement remodel; they didn't get any permits! If there's an issue (fire, etc.) , can we be denied?

Asked by Michelle over 10 years ago

Can you demand pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss wages, even if the injury cant be proven?

Asked by Jane Doe over 9 years ago

I backed out of my driveway and hit a car that was illegally parked on the cul de sac.he suggested that he might be able to pop the pushed in door back.got no police report. Now he says he is taking it somewhere to be fixed. Does ge have any fault.

Asked by Maureen almost 11 years ago

was in a car accident on March 15 2015 I was in a hit and run my property damage is settled I'm waiting on the bodily injury adjuster I'm still in pain I went to the emergency room for treatment what amount IS do not want to hire an attorney

Asked by jay jay over 9 years ago

Got into accident and the at fault insurance adjuster refused to pay for some damages,saying that they were impossible to occur in the situation.but i am sure that the damages come from the accident what should i do?

Asked by daniele over 10 years ago

I have a homeowners claim that was investigated by the SIU and she told me that her investigation was completed and that the adjuster will be contacting me is this a good thing

Asked by ketcha over 10 years ago

If a trucking company take out occ /acc group ins. from my payroll. and have the ins. name on it. How can an outside Ins. company denial me benefits and close my case. This happen in July 28,2009. Now the case have been reopen and nothing is done.

Asked by daniel over 10 years ago

Lets say your driving and your in the turning lane to make a left turn & a car in front of you not in the turning lane decides to back up into the turning ln & hits the car already in turning lane who is at fault

Asked by Raven_5923 almost 11 years ago

Hwve a client..state farm insurance...turned ac on and noticed a lil mold..and relaized had a leak in attic...sent a contractor. up and said the a\c company installed pan wrong when it was built 6 yrs ago

Asked by mike h almost 10 years ago