Top 5 Tricks Insurance Adjusters Play In Personal Injury Cases
While the insurance adjuster is trying to convince you she is there to help you, while rushing you through the process, she will also try to convince you that you need to provide certain private information so that she can “properly evaluate your claim.” Lately, a real popular tactic is for them to say they cannot settle your case or write you a settlement check until they confirm certain private information. I have to hand it to them. They are genius. It’s like they dangle money in front of your face and then pull it away – PSYCH! Not so fast, we’ll give you this check if you give us your first born 😉
Two of the Most Common Items that Insurance Adjusters Will Say
Two of the most common items that insurance adjusters will say are mandatory for them to evaluate and pay your claim are your social security number and all of your medical records. They may also ask for all of your employment records if you are making a loss of earnings claim. These requests may seem harmless, but if you look more closely, they are not.
Firstly, providing your social security number is never required for a settlement. The insurance adjuster may try and mention something about Medicare or some legal requirement that they get your social security number. However, as of the date of the filming as video there’s absolutely no legal basis for insurance companies to collect your full Social Security number. The real reason they want your social security number is so they can put you in their insurance database.
Check out my blog post with the link below for more details on this devious tactic of getting your social security number. Also, the insurance adjuster will ask for all of your medical records and all of your employment records if you make a loss of earnings claim. You may think “Well, Sally didn’t you just tell us in some of your other videos that we need to provide evidence of our claim? Wouldn’t that include medical and employment records?” Well, you do need to provide evidence of your claim, but you do not need to provide access to ALL of your medical records and medical history.
Medical Authorization Form
The typical medical authorization form that the insurance adjuster will give you to sign allows them access to ALL of your medical history, not just the medical treatment records related to the injuries that you are claiming in your accident. You do not want to open this floodgate, and they are not entitled to access to these records. If they get away with getting your full medical file, they can share this in their database and should you ever have another personal injury claim, they will have all of this information at hand. The same goes for your employment records. You only want to turn over that which is relevant to your loss of earnings claims. They’re not entitled to your full employment file.
Thanks for tuning in, and best of luck with your personal injury case. If you have a serious injury from a pedestrian, bicycle, motorcycle or car accident and think you may need expert legal help, click on the “Submit your Case” button. You can give us some details about your case to see if we can help. Contact us now to make sure you don’t get taken advantage of by the insurance companies
