After a scary accident along a California highway, you’ll hopefully be getting as much information as you can from the at-fault driver. However, if you are injured, the most important information to look for will be on the driver’s insurance card.
The driver may depend on USAA coverage and that policy number will be vital for securing the support you need during recovery. Sadly, large insurance firms like USAA protect their profits by withholding as much compensation as possible.
You could receive only half or less of the money you need to pay hospital bills and get back on your feet after missing time at work. Without the full support of USAA, your financial woes could sink even lower when you’re forced to pay expenses out of your own pocket.
Seeking Help from USAA for Accident Victims in California
USAA offers top-notch service and coverage to our U.S. servicemen and servicewomen in the military. Unfortunately, if you’re the victim of a collision caused by a policyholder, you might not receive that same care and commitment.
Large insurance providers have made it a policy to use a strategy known as delay, deny, and defend when contacted by injured victims. This is a streamlined series of tactics meant to frustrate and confuse victims filing an accident claim. USAA adjusters work to get victims to sign off on only a fraction of what’s fair in compensation or to accept nothing at all.
If you or a loved one are in a serious accident and are facing an uphill battle to get assistance from an insurance company, please contact a personal injury lawyer serving California. In fact, it’s smart to talk to an attorney before saying a single word to an insurance representative.
Car accident attorney Martin Gasparian works tirelessly to protect the rights of accident victims. Mr. Gasparian offers a free consultation and case evaluation for victims and their families. Contact him as soon as possible to learn about the traps you can fall into when dealing with an insurance company.
USAA and Delay, Deny, and Defend Tactics
Insurance companies like to save money at every turn to collect profits for their shareholders and to pay for their expensive TV ads. These tactics are great for business but can be devastating for an injured victim facing enormous medical bills.
This unfair treatment can be hard to recognize if you don’t have a lot of experience communicating and negotiating with insurance companies like USAA. Every member of the USAA team is trained to treat injured victims in a certain way. This process often employs the strategy of delay, deny, and defend.
Here’s a look at what that involves:
- Delay – The easiest way to soften you up for their coming tactics is to slam the brakes on your claims process. They can purposely dodge your calls and procrastinate on replying to your claim, letting you become more and more frustrated as your losses grow. They would love to hear that you’ve given up hope on your claim and decided to cover your own medical costs. Once you reach the desperation point USAA can send you a “lowball offer” that doesn’t cover all of your expenses. Yet, you’re so far in debt at that point you can feel you have no choice but to sign off on a settlement offer.
- Deny – Insurance agents can turn to denial to send you away with nothing. They can first deny your claim for a made-up reason supposedly in the fine print. They hope you don’t have a legal representative who can read and understand insurance documents and call USAA out. They can also deny that their driver was to blame for an accident. This may go against the accident report filed by an investigating officer. Insurance companies will still try to pin the accident on you hoping you’ll give up your attempt to get compensation. Your personal injury lawyer will back your case with strong evidence and testimony to ensure that USAA can’t change the narrative of what happened.
- Defend – Only a small percentage of injury cases end up before a judge and jury. It’s usually much more cost-effective if an insurance provider like USAA offers you a fair settlement deal. They can spend thousands of dollars in court fees and attorney costs to try to wriggle free of liability in your accident claim. Courtroom testimony could also expose an insurance company’s bad faith practices. Having a personal injury lawyer working on your case to make sure you have the evidence needed to win a courtroom battle can make all the difference. The threat of a trial will be much more effective when you are working with an attorney. USAA will be much more likely to offer you what’s fair in a settlement with the real possibility of a courtroom visit looming over them.
Contact a California Car Accident Lawyer
There’s another thing to remember as a victim. Don’t offer an insurance company any recorded statements when they call you. Your comments can be used to attack your case later. It’s another way USAA will try to deny you what’s fair after an accident.
Contact Martin Gasparian of Maison Law as soon as possible after a collision. Allow him to handle the communications with insurance companies for you, while you take the time you need to heal and rebuild your life.
