An insurance investigation can compound the stress and anxiety of an accident.  To evaluate your claim, insurance companies may deploy investigators.  These investigators are hired to determine whether your claim is valid.  They do this in a number of ways, including interviews, photographs, video, surveillance, and requesting official reports.  The following are common procedures used by insurance companies.  If you or a family member have been injured, and are the subject of an insurance investigation, please contact Bryan W. Crews, your Orlando personal injury attorney.

The purpose of an insurance investigation is to confirm the merit of your claim.  The scope of an investigation can range from whether they suspect fraud to questioning the amount which you are owed.  Fabricated claims are rare, sometimes referred to as hard fraud.  More common, are claimants that inflate, or overstate, the severity of their claim.  Soft fraud is investigated not to discredit the basis of your claim, but to ascertain the true value of the claim.

Regardless of what the insurance company may suspect, if you have been injured, and are suffering, withstanding an insurance investigation can leave you exasperated.  Bryan W. Crews, your Orlando personal injury attorney, can help you through an insurance investigation, and work on your behalf to resolve your claim.

Insurance adjusters look for a number of reasons to deny claim.  But where they will often start is with you, the insured.  Their initial inquiry will start with your own recollection.  However, if they are not satisfied, suspect fraud, or have some other reason to investigate further, they will, and you should seek competent legal counsel at the offices of Bryan W. Crews.

MEDICAL RECORDS

Hospital charts, medical bills, and other records are used to evaluate your insurance claim.  The insurance company may not trust you to send the records and go straight to the source.  If your insurance company asks you to sign a medical authorization form, proceed with caution, and consider calling Bryan W. Crews, your Orlando personal injury attorney.  Medical authorizations can vary, and some may actually give your insurance company authorization to request and review more than is necessary to evaluate your claim.  This additional information may be used to deny paying the full claim amount.

SURVEILLANCE

Insurance companies use private investigators to watch deceitful claimants.  A “severely injured” claimant that is observed playing basketball or washing their car will almost certainly be denied coverage.  Investigators may be used to verify other facts, such as income, or to interview other witnesses.  Your best course of action is to tell the truth and go about your business.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Avoid writing, posting, or commenting about your personal injury online.  This day and age it is almost a first instinct to share online a that you have suffered a traumatic event.  If you choose to do so, insurance investigators may use your social media history to corroborate your claim.  Insurance investigators evaluating your personal injury claim will review comments and pictures.  Changing your privacy settings may help, but avoiding social media altogether is most prudent.

BE HONEST

If you speak to representatives from the insurance company without an attorney, be transparent, and do not attempt to exaggerate or embellish your story.  Being anything but forthright could draw unwanted attention, and cause an insurance adjuster to take a second look at your claim.  Volunteer the facts and try not to editorialize what happened.  If during the course of their investigation, they discover something that you should have shared, your credibility may be called into question.  Your mistake may be inadvertent, and the investigation can become intrusive, and the questions excessive.  The insurance company employs lawyers, and so should you.  Bryan W. Crews, your Orlando personal injury attorney, is an experienced lawyer and ready to help you deal with insurance investigators.