The insurance adjuster may have made a personal house call and appeared to be so nice and friendly, but don’t get the wrong impression.  The insurance adjuster is not your friend.  Would a friend try to lowball your settlement offer? If so, you need new friends.

Even if the insurance adjuster appeared to be willing to help and made you promises about your future medical bills, you need to be cautious.  The adjuster works for the insurance company, so it is logical to assume that he or she will be looking out for the employer’s interests and not yours. You are not the one who writes his or her paycheck – you’re just another case number and a file that needs to be closed.

Insurance adjusters are skilled and they know what they are doing.  When the insurance adjuster called you or showed up on your doorstep, he or she knew that it was important to build your trust.  The insurance adjuster may have alluded that an attorney would not be needed, that you could settle directly with the insurance company.

After a Virginia car accident, you need to make sure that you and your family are protected.  If the insurance adjuster has made you an offer that you do not feel is fair, or if you are in the beginning of the claims process, you need to order a copy of Fairfax accident attorney Ben Glass’s book, Five Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Injury Claim.

Have you ever heard about a frivolous lawsuit? Sure you have. Some politicians can’t say “lawsuit” without using “frivolous” in front of it.

What you never hear or read about are the frivolous defenses that insurance companies assert to lie to the court, delay payment and frustrate plaintiffs. Some bill by the hour insurance defense lawyers play very fast and loose with the ethical rules about filing false pleadings.

Here’s a case where a truly frivolous defense continues to be asserted in a Virginia accident lawsuit.

Virginia personal injury attorney Ben Glass had just published, in response to demand from consumers, a guide to handling your own personal injury case.

The guide is being made available so that those who wish to try to handle their case without a board certified attorney can do so.

31 Tips to Handling Your Own Virginia Personal Injury Case is available here.

If you are insured by Allstate, Unum or AIG, you should be aware that your insurer has made the top ten list of worst insurance companies in America based on a study conducted by the American Association for Justice (AAJ).  Researchers investigated thousands of SEC and FBI records, state insurance department investigations and complaints, news accounts, former insurance agents and adjusters’ testimonies and court documents.

According to the AAJ report, “The Top Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America,” insurance companies often put profits over policyholders.  The report states that “the name of the game is deny, delay, defend—do anything, in fact, to avoid paying claims.”

The list of insurance companies includes homeowners and auto insurers, life insurers, disability insurers and health insurers.  The company that was identified as the worst of them all was Allstate.  In the report it states that Allstate’s approach to claims is “a combination of lowball offers and hardball litigation.”  A former insurance adjuster with the company stated that they were instructed by supervisors to lie.

Ready for the list of the worst insurers in the country?  Here you go:

1.    Allstate
2.    Unum
3.    AIG
4.    State Farm
5.    Conseco
6.    WellPoint
7.    Farmers
8.    UnitedHealth
9.    Torchmark
10.  Liberty Mutual

For information on how you can avoid becoming a victim of insurance company’s bad tactics, read our blog, “What You Can Do If the Insurance Company Becomes Difficult to Work With.”

If you read our blog, “Insurance Companies Looking to Protect Themselves at the Expense of Consumers,” then you are aware of a report by the American Association for Justice’s (AAJ) that identifies some of the unsavory tactics used by insurance companies. According to the AAJ report, insurance companies have been denying claims, delaying until death, confusing consumers, discriminating by credit score, abandoning the sick and cancelling for a call, all in an attempt to save money.

The report, titled, “Tricks of the Trade: How Insurance Companies Deny, Delay, Confuse and Refuse,” gives some tips to consumers so that they can protect themselves from insurance companies.  These tips are summarized below:

1.    Know what is covered. You need to know what is covered in your insurance policy and how to appeal a denial.

2.    Fill out forms carefully. An honest mistake can result in a denial.

3.   Don’t cash a premium refund check. If your insurer decides to rescind your insurance coverage, it may send you a refund check for the premiums that you paid. By cashing the check, you are basically saying you agree to the decision.

4.    Make sure everything is in writing. Save all correspondence with the insurance company, along with any bills.

5.  Contact your state insurance department, if needed. Although this department cannot represent you with a private complaint, you should still report the problem you are having.

If the insurance company is being difficult, you may want to consider talking with an attorney who will be able to step in to help you.

Order your copy of Ben Glass’s book, The Ultimate Guide To Buying Car Insurance In Virginia.