What Would Road Accident Solicitors Advise?
Most of us don’t come into contact with road accident solicitors very often and we all hope we will never need to. Nevertheless, accidents do happen, so picture the scene. You’re minding your own business driving along when another driver hits the back of your car. You weren’t to blame for the accident. So, as you’re both legally obliged to do, you stop and exchange insurance details and you go about your business, intending to telephone your insurers later in the day at home.
Imagine then, that before you have even called your insurers, there’s a knock at your door from a representative of the other driver’s insurers. He or she then offers to write you a cheque on the spot in compensation for your injuries and losses. This is great you think!
Nevertheless, road accident solicitors might suggest that you stop to consider whether this really is the good deal it sounds. The practice of insurance companies contacting the claimant offering to settle their claim right away is becoming increasingly common. When insurers do this it is usually very soon after the accident. There have even been examples of representatives of insurance companies arriving at the scene of the accident offering to resolve claims there and then.
Whilst all this sounds like a very swift and efficient service, road accident solicitors are warning consumers about the practice. Think about why insurance companies should want to settle claims so quickly. Think about why an honest insurer would want to compensate a driver for their injuries before they had even seen a doctor or received legal advice.
Many road accident solicitors and personal injury lawyer associations are warning that companies are actually trying to save themselves some money whilst claiming to provide efficient service. This is because when a claimant agrees to the settlement, the insurance company asks them to sign a form to state that the offer is accepted in full and final settlement of the claim. This simply means that once that form has been signed, there is no going back, regardless of any circumstances or injuries which later become apparent and regardless of the involvement of road accident solicitors.
Consumers therefore run the risk of accepting a claim worth less than what they’re entitled to and what they may need. It is well known that the full extent of injuries may take several days or even weeks to be clear. One of the purposes of compensation is to pay for ongoing treatment of injuries, so understanding their full extent is important before agreeing to a settlement. It is the universal advice of road accident solicitors that claimants seek medical and legal advice before accepting any settlement.
The Association of British Insurers has created a voluntary code of practice to try to protect consumers from being left out of pocket by this practice. It dictates that insurers should make a claimant aware of their right to independent legal advice when offering to settle their claim. It also says that contacting the claimant by telephone or mail is preferable to visiting them in person in order to avoid them feeling pressured to accept an offer.