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Dealing with the Insurance Company: What You Should Know to Protect Yourself

After an auto accident, you may be contacted by the insurance company for the responsible party. The person(s) contacting you is called an insurance adjuster. It is their job to handle the property damage and injury claims you have as a result of the collision.

Insurance adjusters have received significant training in how to "adjust" property damage and injury claims. This often includes legal and medical training. The insurance adjuster's job is to resolve the claim as efficiently as possible on behalf of the insurance company and their insured. They have no obligation to represent your interests. Even though they may be friendly, their interests are clearly contrary to yours as an injured party.

Very typically, you will be asked to provide a recorded statement to the adjuster regarding the facts of the collision. The purpose of this is to get you committed to a set of facts regarding the accident. Our office recommends against giving a recorded statement until such time as you are reasonably able to do so. We also recommend that it not be given without the assistance of counsel. It is important that you realize your words can be used against you when it comes time to evaluate liability in all collision cases. An unintentional slip of the tongue can be costly.

It is important for you to understand that although the other party may be responsible for causing the accident, their insurance company will not pay your medical expenses or wage loss as it is incurred.

Once all necessary treatment has been received, your claim may then be submitted for consideration.

Damage To Your Vehicle

The law in Missouri and Kansas generally provides that you are owed the cost of repairing your vehicle if the vehicle can be repaired and it is not considered a "total loss."

Your vehicle is generally considered to be a "total loss" if the cost of repairing your vehicle is 75% to 80% of the "fair market value" of your vehicle.

If your vehicle is a "total loss" due to the accident, you are owed the "fair market value" of your car as of the date of the collision. The "fair market value" is the amount you would have reasonably received for it had you decided to sell it before the collision.

In addition to the amount owed to you for the repair or total loss of your vehicle, you are entitled to recover the cost of a replacement vehicle for the loss of use you have suffered due to the accident.

Determining Fair Market Value

The fair market value of an item is the amount a willing buyer would pay for the item and a willing seller would accept for the item. Evidence of the fair market value of motor vehicles can be obtained from a number of sources.

Initially, we recommend that you check various "Blue Book" prices that will give you information regarding trade in value, private party value and retail values. In that regard, please see Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds Used Car Prices and the NADA Guide. Evidence of the retail market value of a vehicle in your area may also be obtained from used car listings. Websites such as AutoTrader and Cars.com are recommended in that regard.

If you have questions or if you believe your claim was unfairly denied, you should contact the experienced car accident lawyers at Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys, for a FREE consultation with no obligation, to discuss your accident situation.

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