Most of us have seen the “Like a good Neighbor” commercials by State Farm and the “You’re in good hands with Allstate” commercials. Because of those commercials and others like them, many people believe that the insurance company is their friend regardless of whether the insurance company is providing coverage for the person who caused the collision or their own insured, i.e.. Be careful, the only friend that an insurance company has is its bottom line.
Facts You Should Know:
- Just because the other person caused the collision, does not mean his/her insurance company will pay the claim or pay it fairly.
- Georgia law requires that all drivers maintain liability insurance in the amount of at least $ 25,000 for personal injury damage.
- Insurance companies and their insureds’ are required to provide you with policy limits information upon written request made in compliance with Georgia law.
- Most, if not all, companies insuring the person that caused the collision will not pay your medical bills or lost wages up front or provide any reimbursement until the end of your claim and after you have already incurred the expenses.
- Many insurance companies will direct bill a car rental agency for the reasonable costs of transportation while your car is repaired or replaced.
- In Georgia, you can choose any repair shop you desire to have your car repaired.
- Many insurance companies will discourage you from hiring a lawyer to handle your claim and then attempt to settle the case at a lower rate.
- Most companies will want to take a recorded statement from you. You should be very careful about any statement that you give. The insurance adjusters are professionally trained to elicit information from you that could harm your case in the future.
- You could be secretly followed and photographed or videoed by an insurance company investigator without your permission.
- An insurance company may attempt to check your credit status in order to determine your willingness to accept a low settlement.
- One national insurance company doing business locally plugs information about your injury into a computer and lets it decide what you should be paid resulting in offers of settlement that do not restore you to your preinjury status.
- Some insurance companies spend millions litigating to keep from paying claims like yours. One well known insurance company doing business in Georgia has lost more than $1.5 billion in legal cases in 1999 for allegedly doctoring claims, using fraudulent medical consulting firms, fraudulently using after-market replacement parts and misrepresenting life insurance policies as savings accounts to its customers.