There was a time when we felt like folks who were organized and comfortable with figures and negotiations could handle simple, clear liability claims involving minor injuries without the assistance of counsel. Those days are long gone now, and the unfortunate truth is that the claims industry has changed substantially. The system has grown more complex and less user friendly. The primary problem is that crash victims believe the insurance company wants the same things they do, namely a fair and efficient, early resolution to their claim. But insurers are driven solely by profits, and there is overwhelming internal pressure within insurance claims offices to achieve the lowest possible cost per claim. These pressures result in development of strategies and techniques to push the boundaries of ethical behavior, to purposefully stall and delay claims, to fail to advise claimants accurately as to their rights, in short, to take every possible advantage of insurer’s knowledge, familiarity, databases and bargaining position to force claimants into resolving claims for well under accepted values. These practices are at their most egregious when what began as a small claim turns out to involve serious injuries that aren’t readily apparent, and the claimant learns too late that they have been taken advantage of in a case that now involves life-altering injuries.
