The Insurance Company is Not Your Friend

The insurance company is not your friend. I feel like I say this to every potential client, and I get the same response “they’ve been really friendly so far.”

Then we get into the claims process and get down to brass tacks and the client quickly realizes that, had they gone into this without an attorney, what would have been considered “fair” by the insurance adjuster’s definition would have been much different and less zeros on it.

Case in point, I was speaking to a friend recently I had not seen in nearly a decade and it came up that he had been involved in an 18-wheeler accident a few years back. He told me how he had tried to go it alone for a while against the insurance company, in part because they seemed to be on his side and they accepted liability right away. He was hurt pretty bad in the accident and required shoulder surgery and weeks of rehabilitation.  However,  in his initial meeting with the insurance company’s adjuster, they offered him $1,500. He said he couldn’t believe it and as he said it, he seemed to think that I should be surprised too, but I wasn’t.

Why?…. because I know that the insurance company is not your friend. So, I told him that. I said that they’re your buddy until it comes time to pay, and then they try to completely pull the wool over your eyes and get a “buddy” deal.

What We See In Our Own Practice…

Here at Guest and Gray, we see lots of cases come to us where the injured party has been going it alone and after months of dealing with the insurance company they come to us looking for help. The claims process is difficult enough already: Getting the medical records and corresponding medical bills from the providers and insurance company can be a task all on its own. Then negotiating with a multi-billion dollar entity like Progressive or Geico who has the edge against the average consumer who has never dealt with an insurance company like this before.

Plus, there are lots of things to factor in when you begin negotiating with the insurance company. It isn’t just about getting your medical costs back. It is about getting all your recovery. Your pain and suffering and mental anguish. Your lost wages. It’s about making you whole again. And what about if you still need future treatment such as rehab or another surgery? And of course, the insurance company knows all of these things. They know you don’t know all the avenues of recovery on a personal injury claim. They know you don’t know the type of documentation you may need to prove lost wages, lost profits, loss of consortium, disfigurement, etc…

So, what do they do? They offer you less and then drag it out. They know the longer you wait, the more likely you are to settle for less. Medical bills pile up. Life happens. Maybe you get behind in other areas of your life due to reduced work schedule during recovery or your inability to do the same job has resulted in job loss or job change. When this happens, life’s other bills may begin to pile up on you. You settle.

That is how the insurance company wins.

That is not how it works at Guest and Gray. We make the insurance company pay. We know how to prove each avenue of recovery and we will leave no stone unturned when it comes to getting you the settlement you deserve.

Back to My Original Story…

My friend decided to hire an attorney out where he lives and after about a year of negotiations they eventually settled for over $100,000. He again acted like I should have been surprised, but I wasn’t. We make stuff like that happen regularly. The insurance company is simply not your friend. The quicker you realize that and hire an attorney, the faster you will see real results in your case.

About Our Firm:

Guest and Gray, P.C. is an experienced litigation team serving all North Texas counties. We are the largest and highest rated law firm in Rockwall and Kaufman County. We regularly pursue and defend various civil litigation claims and personal injury claims. Our practice is quickly growing with offices now located in Dallas, Rockwall and our main office in Forney, Texas to provide convenience to our clients. We are longtime faces in our community and we love what we do. We seek to provide an air of calm and confidence for our clients during a difficult time. We believe that makes us a little bit different from everybody else, and we like it that way.

For more information, or if you are seeking legal advice, give us a call at (972) 564-4644