Just Answers - Insurance

How can you tell if an insurance adjuster is lying? Answer: Look and see if his/her lips are moving!

Yes, I know that was a corny joke that may overstate the frequency of the problem to some degree. But, this fact can’t be disputed or denied: Insurance adjusters often lie to consumers, hoping their antics will cause them to become discouraged and accept a smaller settlement than they are rightfully owed. While it is true, mistakes occasionally happen and some adjusters pass untruths out of ignorance, many

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

others are handsomely rewarded for routinely telling blatant and deliberate lies to claimants.

In this article you will learn nine of the most frequent lies auto insurance adjusters tell. Beneath each lie, you will learn the truth.

Lie #1 You must get your car repaired

Truth: It’s your car and no one can make you do something with it that you don’t want to do. If you choose not to repair damage that is covered by insurance, as a general rule, the insurer still owes you for the full val

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

e of necessary repairs that would be required to put your vehicle into its preloss condition. But, be forewarned. If you choose not to repair accident damage on your car, your insurance company would not be required to continue insuring the car for its full retail value. In fact, if you play hardball, your insurance company may decline to insure your car altogether forcing you to shop for other insurance coverage at a time when your driving record may be marked by an accident.

Lie #2 You must go to

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

the insurer’s preferred shop

Truth: If you choose to have your car repaired, most state’s laws allow you to authorize work at the shop of your choice. However, if you encounter problems with a shop you selected, the insurance company will be quoting the old lyric, “I told you so,” and will be little help in procuring your satisfaction. If, on the other hand, you go to a shop selected by an insurer and get deceived, or don’t receive the level of repair you are entitled to, you will be i

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

a much better position to negotiate with the insurer, especially if there is threat of a bad faith lawsuit against them.

Lie #3 You must turn the claim in to your own company if we disagree

Truth: If you are the victim of someone else’s negligence and their insurer is trying to get you to settle for less than you are entitled, you might consider sending a demand for payment to the person that caused the damage. The fact that the negligent party bought lousy insurance coverage does not r

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

elieve them of the responsibility and obligation they have to indemnify you of damage they caused. Therefore, if the third-party insurance company doesn’t want to make full restitution to you on their policyholders’ behalf, you are under no obligation to deal with them. Simply insist on payment directly from the negligent party or pay your deductible and file a claim under your own insurance policy.

Lie #4 Repairs will restore your vehicle to its preloss condition

Truth: There are many f

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

ctors that prevent a car or truck from being restored to its preloss condition. The same would be true for anything that is damaged and reconstructed. Think for a moment about a valuable vase that gets broken. Although the vase could be glued back together, even to the point that the damage is unrecognizable, it could never be as sound or as valuable as it previously was because there is a potential for failure after the accident and repair that didn’t previously exist. Likewise, during auto repairs it is

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

economically impractical to test every component and part on a car to guarantee that it’s performance and durability are unaltered. In addition, many of the tests that would be required in making this determination are destructive by nature making them unfeasible to perform. What if the crash affected sealed electronics in your car’s dash or clutches in your car’s transmission causing premature failure of these expensive parts? What if your car’s metal becomes fatigued from being beaten, stretched, hammer

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

d, and welded on causing it to fold easier in a subsequent accident and causing late deployment of airbags? What if…

Lie #5 You Don’t need a lawyer

Truth: Insurers, oftentimes, do not take consumers, without legal representation, seriously. Let’s face it; where there is no threat of danger, there is little motive for action. As an example, you could enthusiastically warn me by shouting, “beware of the dog” until you lose your voice. But until you take the chain off or open the ga

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

te to the pen I probably wouldn’t run. In fact, I might not run even then if you have a terrier or a poodle. If however, you are saying “sic-um” to a ferocious pit bull, I’ll have a much different attitude. Insurers are no different. They pick and choose their fights. If they think you can mount a good defense against them, they will usually pay you everything you are owed. If they think you can’t afford a lawyer or a proper defense, they will most often bully you and stall your claim, sometimes

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

forever. As in the analogy of the dog, when you unleash a lawyer that commands insurer’s respect, you will get action. But even then, don’t expect results quickly. Often, deals are made on the courthouse steps just prior to a trial. The months and sometimes years leading up to that point can be very frustrating for claimants.

Lie #6 Your car will be just as valuable after the accident and repairs as before

Truth: Most people are alike in that given the choice between two cars identica

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

l in every way with the exception being that one has been involved in an accident and the other has not, most would prefer the car with no damage history. This is true even if repairs to the car not chosen are of such good quality that you can’t tell it apart from the undamaged one. With the number of used car certification programs growing and damage disclosure to potential buyers a legal requirement in many states, the only way wrecked cars sell is if the price is cut low enough to offset the risk car sh

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

ppers take when purchasing damaged goods. The loss in market value a car suffers after being wrecked and repaired is known as diminished value (DV).

Lie #7 We don’t pay Diminished Value (DV)

Truth: In third-party claims, insurance companies are obligated to pay diminished value to claimants who prove the amount of their losses. Proving a loss is not difficult. It will, however, require that you have a post-repair inspection performed on your repaired vehicle - unless, of course, you wan

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

t to take the insurer’s word for the amount you are owed. Since one of the biggest factors lessening the value of repaired cars and trucks is poor quality workmanship, it is easy to understand why it is impossible to determine the amount of diminished value without a detailed and thorough examination of the property following completion of the repairs by a body shop.

It is usually more difficult to collect diminished value under your own policy than it is in third-party cases where another person’s insuran

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

e is paying. The reason for this is that many consumers, unbeknownst to them, purchase insurance policies that have diminished value exclusions written in them. By virtue of being bound to this contract that they purchased, these consumers will be forced to forgo this portion of their claim. But, even in these cases, consumers that have purchased a post-repair inspection will often have proof that repairs failed to restore a vehicle to its preloss condition. Faced with this proof and the obligation to in

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

demnify the policyholder, insurers are often forced to make a monetary concession - though rarely will they call it a diminished value payment.

Lie #8 You must go back to the same dishonest and/or slothful shop for rerepairs

Truth: If you didn’t have to get your car repaired in the first place, why would you feel obligated to return a second, third or forth time to get the job done right? You don’t have to and you shouldn’t. You are under no more obligation to go back to an auto collisi

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

n repair shop that butchered your car than you are to go back to a barber shop or beauty shop that butchered your haircut. Some courts have even taken the position that if you go back after knowing the limited capabilities of the shop or knowing that they might be less than honest, then you deserve whatever treatment you get the second time. You know the old saying, “Get me once, shame on you; Get me the second time, shame on ME!”

Lie #9 Insurance direct repair shops are the best places to get your

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

car repaired

Truth: Direct repair shops (DRP) are not chosen for their ability to perform high quality work. Rather, insurers choose these shops to work with based on the amount of concessions and discounts they are willing to give them in exchange for referrals. In effect, DRP shops see insurers as their customers instead of vehicle owners. Given the choice, most will favor an insurer to keep work coming in the door, even if it means lying and cheating long-time customers. There are many wa

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

s DRP shops favor insurers. As an example, many DRP agreements and contacts mandate that repair shop estimators overlook certain damages that would not be blatantly obvious to a consumer's untrained eye. In addition, it would not be uncommon for them to try to talk you into accepting an appearance allowance that represents an amount less than the actual cost of repairs to forgo repair of some damaged panels or parts. This would often be presented to you in such a way as to convince you they are doing you a

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

favor.

Reality is, whether or not you get your car repaired, you are entitled to full value for the cost of repairs necessary to restore your property to its preloss condition. You shouldn’t settle for less!

This information is general in nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal or insurance advice. Readers are encouraged to consult specialists in these fields who have an understanding of legal and insurance issues on a local, state, and national level.

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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Just Answers - Beware 9 Lies Auto Insurance Adjusters Might Tell You

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