How you handle your accident claim after a collision can affect the time you must wait for a settlement and how much you get. It can be extra frustrating when you must deal with an at-fault driver’s insurance provider. They can treat non-customers with very little respect and care.
As you assemble your claim, you must be cautious of certain car insurance tactics a company like Mercury Insurance may resort to. It’s all geared to limit the amount of compensation they must pay out.
Working Through Mercury Insurance for an Injury Claim
Accident victims may be left in a smashed car after a frightening collision along Route 58. They can be left with serious injuries and in shock.
Once they’ve been treated, they may also have to reach out to a car insurance company they’ve never dealt with before. If the at-fault driver was covered by Mercury Insurance, one option is to go online and enter information about the crash.
- Online with Mercury’s Automated Digital Experience
- Call the 24/7 claims hotline at (800) 503-3724.
On the website, you’ll be asked if you need a tow truck. Then you’ll be asked to enter your name and phone number. You may start by filing online, but you may quickly receive a phone call to provide more information.
It’s a good idea to have your information handy, including the Mercury customer’s name, phone number, address, and policy number. Information about the accident is also helpful. You’ll want to be able to quote the time and date your accident occurred. You should also know the location of your accident.
Avoiding Certain Insurance Pitfalls After a Car Accident
Car insurance companies all want to protect their profits. They do this by rejecting as many claims as they can and also dishing out “lowball” settlements that don’t cover everything victims need.
Sadly, most victims won’t have experience negotiating with a car insurance company like Mercury. They’ll feel lucky to get anything, when in fact they should be compensated for every hardship a reckless driver caused. That includes the pain and emotional distress victims must endure.
Holding your ground and having the evidence to combat some of these unfair insurance tactics will be key to a successful injury claim:
- Shifting Blame. Insurance adjusters will first look for ways they can push all the blame onto you. They try this even if a California Highway Patrol says the other driver was responsible. If they can get you to accept the fault, they can ignore your accident claim. You may even have to help pay for the true at-fault driver’s bills.
- Quick Settlement Offers. Insurers may try to send you a quick settlement offer while you don’t have a lawyer and while you may not be fully aware of your recovery costs. It’s usually an undervalued offer. Once you sign off on a settlement, you can’t go back and ask for more later when you have an injury flare-up or require additional physical therapy.
- Delayed Response. In other instances, insurers like to slow things down. They know they’ll have to pay for some of the costs, so they try to wait you out. They count on you becoming desperate as medical bills come due while there are no paychecks arriving from your employer because you can’t work. At some point, they will offer a “lowball” settlement, hoping you are on the financial brink and are willing to accept any amount. A skilled lawyer knows how to cut through the red tape to speed up the process. Your lawyer can also report the insurer to the state, because there are laws about how long victims should be made to wait.
- Won’t Mention a Lawyer. Car insurance companies don’t usually mention that you have the right to a lawyer. Your lawyer represents the threat of a lawsuit. This makes insurance providers work harder to please victims with settlements. They don’t want to spend the money to go to court and face public scrutiny.
When You May Want a Lawyer to Handle Mercury Insurance
It makes the most sense to rely on a lawyer’s help if you’ve been hurt by a careless driver and your injuries are serious. These are more valuable cases, but insurers fight harder to avoid taking the blame.
A Bakersfield Car Accident Lawyer fully investigates your accident and the driver involved. Your lawyer collects all evidence and combines it with any evidence you collected at the scene. Your lawyer keeps the blame in the right place and then demands support for your medical bills now and those likely in the future.
Your lawyer seeks full replacement of the income you’ve lost. Your lawyer demands compensation for the pain you’ve had to cope with and the emotional trauma you’ve suffered through. Maison Law often wins clients much more than they could secure by taking on a giant insurer themselves.
Discuss Your Accident Claim with a Bakersfield Car Accident Attorney for FREE
Injured Kern County car accident victims can contact Maison Law for a free case consultation. We want to see you emerge from your accident with the insurance support you need to heal and rebuild your life.
There’s no obligation for your meeting. There are also no upfront charges if you need to hire us. Maison Law actually doesn’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our attorney’s fee comes out of the settlement check that Mercury Insurance must write for you.
