After an accident, it is prudent to get in contact with your insurance company soon after. The liability stipulations in your insurance contract usually mandate this, and it is important to relay to them the details of what happened.
Insurance companies rely on the evidence and information you give them as they make decisions on compensation and courses of action. If you delay to talk with your insurance company, you might forget key details.
However, it is inevitable after you exchange contact information with anyone else involved in the accident that you will be contacted by some sort of representative for the other parties involved. This could be through a lawyer, or even by another insurance company.
Should I Speak With The Other Party’s Lawyer?
No, not without obtaining your own representation first. If you are involved in an accident, you will want to speak with a personal injury attorney in regards to fault. Your interpretation of the accident and who is at fault might be different, and you want to be careful that you do not say something that might make your case more difficult.
It can be tempting to speak with the insurance company of the other side, but this is usually a bad decision. They might try to explain how it will make the process go more smoothly, but there are a lot of reasons why you should not do so.
Top Three Reasons Not To Talk To The Other Party’s Insurance Company
- You are not legally bound to do so. The other insurance company might try to get a statement from you about what happened, but you are under no legal obligation to speak with them or give a statement. Your insurance company can take your statement and provide it to the other insurance company.
- They will try to trick you. Despite what you might think, there is a strong chance you do not have all the insights into the mechanisms of the law surrounding damage claims or negligence. In general, they are trying to speak with you in order to gather evidence that they could use against you. You might think that anything you say to them is innocent, but most insurance professionals know how to work with people to get them to divulge information that may be useful. Speak with your lawyer instead and let them handle the insurance company.
- Your focus should be on treatment and healing. Discussing your injuries prematurely with the other party’s insurance company can have a detrimental effect on your case. It takes time for injuries to heal and it also take time for some injuries to present themselves. The best thing you can do is to focus on healing and let your attorney take care of the rest.
Let the Pennsylvania personal injury attorneys at Louis P. Lombardi II & Associates handle the insurance companies and aggressively fight for your rights. Contact us today for a free consultation.