I just finished reading a book about a lawyer who spent a good part of his life fighting one of the biggest insurance companies in the world, Allstate. We all know Allstate from the commercial: “you are in good hands with Allstate”. The author of this book, David Berardinelli is a lawyer who decided to take on the fight against one of the biggest insurance companies in the world. His story is fascinating.

David starts out explaining how the big executives at Allstate wanted to keep more profits for themselves, so they decided to hire one of the most famous consulting firms called McKinsey and Company. Allstate used to fairly evaluate bodily injury claims on a case by case basis. But, McKinsey said:

“No, this is not fair to your bottom line, your profits and your shareholders”. Forget your policy holders who pay you premiums each month, you owe it to yourself to make more and more money.

They developed the “Greed is Good” slogan.

Greed Is Good, Don’t Give Out Fair Car Accident Settlement Amounts

According to McKinsey, “greed is good” and you, Allstate need to be more greedy and stingy and unfair when dealing with car accident settlement amounts. One of the basic, longstanding principles of law is that insurance companies owe a duty of good faith and fair dealing towards all settlements involving their policyholders. What happened to this long-standing rule of law? McKinsey told Allstate to forget about this and deal with every legitimate claim like it is a personal affront to your bottom line and profit-making potential and most of all, do not give out fair car accident settlement amounts.

Insurance Companies Make Billions Of Profit Each Year

It is very true that insurance companies make billions of dollars in profit every year. How? They take money from the public to insure us against disasters, car accidents, homeowner claims, fire, etc. What do they do with this money? Instead of safeguarding for the public when accidents and disasters happen, they basically try to make more and more profit for themselves. It is the biggest scam in America. Insurance companies have developed software programs to significantly downgrade car accident injuries and pay out the least amount possible while keeping the insurance company profit soaring.

Money Incentives To Settle Car Accident Claims

The insurance company executives all the way down to the entry level claim’s adjuster is given incentives to deny legitimate claims and delay and decrease their true values. The claim’s adjusters know that if they can keep an injured victim away from hiring a lawyer to help them, then they can offer these poor people, pennies on the dollar. So great effort is made by each adjuster to trap and settle a car accident victim claim before the injured victim is able to hire a car accident attorney, specialist.

$1,000 Car Accident Settlement Amounts To Victims Who Don’t Have Attorneys

I personally find that the insurance companies are offering car accident victims who do not have an injury attorney, $1,000 or $1,500 dollars. And guess what, most people take these very low offers because they do not know any better or have an immediate need for money and think the insurance company is being fair. The insurers offer this settlement money in the first few days or week after the accident, knowing that these victims are injured, or have sought medical care and knowing that if they can get them to settle right away without knowing the full extent of their injuries, then the insurance company can save a lot of money.

Do Insurance Companies Make More Profit By Scamming Injured Car Accident Victims?

How much profit do these insurers actually need anyway? They are already making billions of dollars in profit and paying out claims at reduced rates based on incentives to their employees. If a claim’s adjuster can settle a case and save the insurance company a great deal of money, then that claim’s adjuster gets a money bonus. The insurance company employees are actually paid more to deny injured victims the true money value of their claim. This is a direct conflict of interest with the policyholder who faithfully pays premiums thinking that the insurer who they pay will be on their side when disaster strikes.

You Are The Enemy To All Insurance Companies

When disaster strikes, the insurance company looks at you like you are the new “enemy”. You are trying to take money out of their profit margin! Shame on you for wanting the full value of your injuries due to the fault of the insurance company’s insured driver. The insurance companies do not treat you fairly. They are thinking

“Shame On You For Wanting Compensation For Your Injuries From Our Insured, The At Fault Party”.

I hear time and time again from insurance adjusters that you as the innocent, injured victim of someone else’s negligence could not have been hurt in that car accident…. there was not enough damage done to the car. What does that really have to do with anything??? Car damage does not equal damage to yourself.

The amount of damage done to someone’s car during a traffic accident does not equate to the damage done to your body. I have seen cases where cars were destroyed, total losses yet the person was not injured at all. Then, I have seen cases with very low property damage, like rear enders with $400 in damage to the car, yet the person suffers a severe whiplash injury which bothers them for the rest of their lives. It is much like the princess who felt the pea under her mattress. When you have a permanent soft-tissue injury or whiplash, it is like you are walking around your whole life with a stone in your shoe. There is really no cure for these type of ligament injuries, and you will suffer your whole life to varying degrees. You will need yearly physical therapy or chiropractic treatment. Who is going to pay for this?

Should A Computer Determine Your Car Accident Settlement Amounts?

It is true that some people handle pain better than other people. Your amount of pain or monetary damages should not be based on some random computer software program developed by entrepreneurs to help insurance companies make more profit. All the insurance companies nowadays use some sort of irrelevant computer software to determine the value of your injuries. Insurance companies are trying to take the human element out of evaluating injury claims by placing the value of your claim inside the software of a computer (which is basically someone unqualified who came up with the parameters of this type of injury evaluation software).

The problem with this injury evaluation software is that it is based upon different adjusters in different companies properly coding and registering the different injuries and medical bills. It is almost impossible to try to coordinate different injuries across a broad spectrum. Every person is different, every accident is factually different and certainly, everyone suffers and sustains totally different injuries. So, how on earth can an insurance company evaluate your injuries with computer software? It is improper, unethical and simply unfair. An insurance company needs to independently evaluate each and every car accident case on a human basis. There are too many factors to try to let a computer decide the value of your injuries.

Unfair Playing Field: You Vs. An Insurance Company Computer

A computer cannot determine car accident settlement amounts. Injured car accident victims start off from the very beginning on an “unfair playing field”. Car accident victims are nicely told by the insurance company to wait and we can offer you a good and fair settlement in a few months, when your injuries are better. They are “buttering” you up for their final lowball offer. After you have spent a few months going to the doctor or treating with a chiropractor or physical therapist, the insurance company will send you a letter saying how sorry they are to see you struggling and sorry that you are injured, etc.

The insurance companies use these type of tactics to kill time so that you get more and more desperate and will settle your case without an attorney for a low settlement amount. Your medical bills pile up, you start getting bill collection notices from the Hospital or ambulance service and you start thinking, “oh no… my credit is now going to get ruined”! So, what do you do, you take that ridiculous offer from the greedy insurance company.

After the insurance company plays this waiting game, waiting for you to become more desperate, they may offer you a little more money, say $2,000 to settle your claim in full. At this point, you are so tired, frustrated and extremely worn down, that you are very tempted and may say “yes”, just send me the money. They know that if they can send you $2,000, then they can save a lot of money before you hire an attorney.

Don’t Talk To The At-Fault Driver’s Insurance Company

Therefore, please do not talk to the insurance company when you are injured. They are not out to protect you like their commercials advertise. They are out to make money and make good business decisions for themselves and their shareholders, not the injured victims like yourself. As they say in real estate, “buyer beware” when it comes to dealing with an insurance company’s claim’s department and remember, even if they are very nice to you, it is because they are trained to act like your best friend, so they can eventually offer you a lowball settlement. Please do not fall for these tactics and hire someone like myself, or a specialist in car accident settlements.

There are many more reasons not to ever talk to the other side’s insurance company. Just remember that it is not an even playing field. Adjusters know and are trained to get you to take their low settlement offers. Don’t get blinded like a deer in headlights. Hire a specialist in car accident settlement amounts.

Hire A Car Accident Attorney For The Best Car Accident Settlement Amounts

When an attorney is hired, like myself who specializes in car accident cases, they can usually get 5 times or more money than a normal injured victim. Insurance companies play the numbers game. They know they can take advantage of injured victims who have no attorney as an injured victim is not savvy enough to realize that the insurance companies are playing games.

A car accident attorney who specializes in car accidents can truly get injured victims higher car accident settlement amounts. If the insurance company continues to play games, then I or your attorney can file a lawsuit and possibly get a jury to award you  higher car accident settlement amounts, much more than the insurance company was ever willing to pay out. The decision to file a lawsuit is a serious one and must only be done in situations where there is a clear ability to win and absorb the extra costs, extra attorney’s fees and the 1-2 years it may take to get your case through the court system. This decision should be made between you and your attorney.


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