Economic of Insurance Companies
It’s no secret that an insurance company is a business whose priority is to make money for its executives and shareholders. Despite what the funny and cute television commercials say, the insurance companies are not there for you, they are not forgiving, and they are not sensitive to your individual needs. They exist as any other business exists – to maximize profits. That doesn’t necessarily make insurance companies evil or bad. It simply means that the more insurance companies have to pay out on insurance claims, the less money they make. Conversely, the less they pay on claims the more they save, the more they invest, and the more profit they make. It’s simple economics.
What that ultimately means is that, despite the fact that insurance companies take your premium payments every month or every year to make sure that they’re being paid for their services, they want to hold on to as much of those premiums (and investments on those premiums) as they can. When you or a loved one have been injured in an accident and make a claim against an insurance company, you begin to cost them money – and that’s when the adversarial relationship begins.
Profit is the bottom line for insurance companies, like all businesses
Your insurance company doesn’t want you injured. Not because it cares about you (it’s a business and has no feelings), but because it doesn’t want to pay for your reasonable and necessary medical bills. Your insurance company doesn’t want you out of work, because it has to pay for your lost wages. Your insurance company also doesn’t want to pay you a settlement to cover policyholder negligence, because that costs money. And, like any business that wants to make a profit, it will do anything within its power to minimize what it has to pay out for medical bills, lost wages, and settlements.
An insurance company has tremendous weaponry at its disposal to quickly and efficiently “adjust” your injury claim so that it can minimize what it has to pay. Insurance companies have investigators who conduct surveillance, medical personnel to review your medical records, doctors to examine you, software to determine how much they should pay for your medical bills, and seasoned professionals to negotiate a settlement.
Insurance companies say to you: “You can freely sign our documents, you can negotiate payment of your medical bills and lost wages, and you can attempt to get a fair settlement of your claim.”
Knowledge is power against insurance companies
However, rest assured that the insurance company is not going to tell you everything you need to know and is surely not going to pay you the maximum settlement available for your claim. This is your injury, your scarring, and your claim. The best and most assured way to protect yourself and to level the playing field when working toward a fair resolution of your claim with the insurance companies is to have as much knowledge at your disposal as you can.
