Why It’s Vital to Document Interactions with Insurance Company When Filing an Insurance Claim

Why It’s Vital to Document Interactions with Insurance Company When Filing an Insurance Claim

If you’re in the midst of filing an insurance claim, it’s important to keep track not only of all your accident and injury information, but also your interactions with the insurance company. This is a vital step in the claims process because keeping tabs on the insurance adjuster will better protect your claim and preserve your rights to compensation should they try to deal with you unfairly.

Reasons to Document Conversations with Insurance Adjusters

It’s well known in the legal community that insurance companies have a bad reputation for trying to pull one over on claimants and wrongly deny their claims. Their bottom line is so important to them that it sometimes causes them to thwart legitimate claims.

Quoted in a 2007 New York Times article, Mary Beth Senkewicz, former senior executive at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, bluntly explains: “The bottom line is that insurance companies make money when they don’t pay claims. . . They’ll do anything to avoid paying, because if they wait long enough, they know the policyholders will die.” This is especially true for long-term-care policyholders.

A specific example from that same New York Times article lists the company Bankers Life and Casualty as sending the wrong form to a woman suffering dementia and then denying her claim for improper paperwork.

The insurance companies might try to:

• say that you didn’t turn in proper paperwork;
• confuse you with legal jargon;
• request unwarranted information;
• wrongly try to drop your coverage;
• offer you a less-than-fair settlement; or
• try to delay your claim for an extended period of time.

Documenting the conversations can help safeguard you if the insurance company unfairly handles your claim, and gives your attorney evidence to work with should you decide to pursue restitution through a bad faith claim.

Types of Information to Record

With each phone call or visit with the insurance company, make sure to jot down the following information, and keep it handy in a file dedicated solely to your accident, the:

 

• agent’s name;
• time of conversation;

 

• phone number and extension of the agent; and
• gist of the call with any important details.

What to Do if Your Claim Isn’t Being Handled Fairly

While we would all like to think that insurance companies are looking out for our best interest, the truth of the matter is that they simply aren’t. If you feel like the insurance company is handling your case unfairly, consult a local attorney that handles bad faith claims.

Insurance companies have a legal duty to conduct claims fairly and appropriately. Colorado state law provides specific good faith guidelines insurance companies must follow. If they fail to abide by those rules, you have the right to bring a bad faith claim against them and pursue compensation for your accident, as well as other damages.

Asking an Attorney for Help

If you have concerns about your claim, speak to attorney D.J. Banovitz. He has helped his personal injury clients obtain the compensation they deserve, and he knows how to fight back when insurance companies act in a deceptive manner. Contact our firm today at 303-300-5060 to schedule a free consultation.