If you were injured by someone who had Geico insurance, you should talk to a lawyer. Trusting an insurance company to give you enough to pay your medical bills can be a risky business. A lawyer can protect you from false accusations and low settlement offers.
However, if you are left with only property damage or very minor injuries, you may be able to proceed on your own and get fair treatment.
Here’s a guide to how to file a claim with Geico and how to avoid tactics meant to leave you with less.
Filing a California Car Accident Claim with Geico
Geico may be the most online-friendly car insurance company. You can report an accident and file a claim on their Geico Claims Center. They have multiple-choice selections to get you started, such as “I am insured with Geico” or “I had an incident with a Geico customer.”
You’ll receive a claims number once the documentation is complete. This allows you to check on the status of your claim at any time.
In some instances, you’ll immediately schedule a damage inspection. This may be as simple as sending Geico photos of the damage to your vehicle. It may involve a physical inspection with a claims adjuster. In some cases, victims can schedule repair services the same day they file.
- If you were partially at fault in an accident or believe you might have been, you should still report the crash to Geico. Geico can help you prove who was at fault and help you get compensated for all or part of the financial hit you must accept. If you are being blamed for an accident you didn’t cause, or partially blamed, it’s a good sign that you should consult with a skilled California car accident attorney.
- If another driver was to blame, you’ll still want to alert Geico as soon as possible. You may still need to file a claim with Geico. This would allow you to seek compensation from the insurer, in case the at-fault driver’s insurance company didn’t cover all of your damages. You also don’t want the other driver to be the first person your insurance provider hears from.
What to Watch Out for When Dealing with Geico After an Accident
Geico may make it very convenient to file everything online, but you can unintentionally sign away some of your rights and benefits if you aren’t careful.
Unfortunately, insurance adjusters all follow a similar game plan with claims, whether handled online or in person. The goal of the game is to get you out the door as soon as possible with as small a settlement check as possible. Or preferably, without any support at all.
With simple car damage, the process is pretty standard, and insurers fight less over how much compensation they’ll provide. But when serious injuries are involved, and thousands of dollars in medical bills, insurance companies work harder to limit what victims receive.
An experienced car accident attorney will be able to spot these tactics and call the insurer out. But if you are handling your case yourself, it’s a good idea to monitor the claims process for these and other shady practices:
- Shifting Blame. Insurance adjusters will try to change the facts of what happened to point the finger of blame away from their policyholder. If they can get you to accept the fault, they can ignore your accident claim. The other driver may even be able to ask your auto insurance provider for support.
- Misrepresenting the Coverage. Insurers may deny your claim by citing some fine print in the policy. You may not have the insurance expertise to read up on these supposed rules to find that the insurer isn’t being honest about what a policy provides.
- Quick Settlement Offers. If you don’t have an attorney, insurers can go for a quick victory by offering you a small settlement in the weeks that follow. They hope you’ll jump at the offer. They also hope you sign off on a quick settlement before you understand the true scope of your injuries and the costs that will be coming down the road. Once you sign off on a settlement, you can’t go back and ask for more later.
- Delayed Settlement Offers. If insurers know you have a strong case, they try the opposite of moving quickly. They can purposely delay responding to your claim and offering money. They hope that the longer you have to sit with your rising medical debt and lost time at work, the more desperate you get. Then, when you are very worried about your financial well-being, they’ll offer a “lowball” settlement offer, hoping you jump at any chance of securing support.
- Twisting Words from Recorded Statements. You should also be cautious when an at-fault driver’s insurance agent calls you. They will likely ask you to make a recorded statement. You should decline and just provide basic information. The statement you make can be twisted later to hurt your claim. Allow your attorney to handle all communication with an insurer.
- Not Mentioning a Lawyer. Insurance companies won’t mention that you have the right to have legal representation. They can forget to mention this while they are falsely accusing you of causing a collision. They can avoid bringing up the topic of a lawyer while they are offering you a settlement that won’t even cover half the medical bills you’ve built up. Take this article as a reminder: if you are seriously hurt, and another driver was to blame, speak to a lawyer in a free consultation. There’s no risk, and it’s a good way to determine if you need legal protection for your case or not.
Discussing Your Insurance Claim with a Skilled California Car Accident Lawyer
If you feel uncertain about whether you need the help of a lawyer to get the most out of your claim, you should contact Maison Law of California for a free consultation. It’s an easy way to discuss your options and stay informed of your rights.
If we can’t help you earn more for your claim, we’ll be upfront with you. But when claims involve serious injuries, like broken bones, neck and back injuries, or brain injuries, it can pay to speak to a lawyer. An experienced lawyer has a good chance to earn you much more than you could secure by handling your case yourself.
You also don’t have to worry about having the money to hire Maison Law if you need us. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our lawyer’s fee comes out of the settlement money that a car insurance company must hand over to you.
