Road Accident Solicitor: Can You Trust Their Insurer?
If you’ve been involved in a road accident and are making a claim against the liable party’s insurers then you might have been contacted by them offering to settle your claim. So is it better to use your own road accident solicitor or their insurer?
The insurance companies have been getting a bad press lately in the media and amongst road accident solicitor and consumer groups because of their use of a technique known as third party capture. Or, should you wish to call it by its more friendly-sounding name, third party assistance.
This basically meant the insurance company contacts the innocent party and makes them an offer to settle their claim. This usually happens very quickly after the incident and often before the victim has consulted a road accident solicitor. Of course, you might interpret this as wonderful customer service which puts the victim first. But ask a road accident solicitor and you might just change your mind.
This is because, often, the amount of money offered to the victim by the insurance company is less than they might have received if they had enlisted the help of a road accident solicitor.
Another worrying thing is that until very recently this practice was not regulated. And even now all that exists is a voluntary code of practice. Set up by the Association of British Insurers, the code states that the first contact that the insurance company makes with the victim should be by mail or telephone. This is because some accident victims have previously felt pressured by agents calling on them and accepted the settlement without consulting a road accident solicitor. Also, the code dictates that insurance companies must underline the victim’s right to seek independent legal advice at any stage.
Ultimately, the decision lies with the accident victim about how to go about getting compensation for their injuries and damage to their vehicle. But there is certainly no harm in asking a road accident solicitor’s opinion, especially since he or she will most probably take on your claim on a no win no fee basis and recover their costs from the other side.
Tags: Accident Victim, Accident Victims, Association Of British Insurers, Code States, Company Contacts, Consumer Groups, First Contact, Independent Legal Advice, Innocent Party, Insurance Companies, insurance company, Insurer, Liable Party, Mail, Opi, Party Assistance, road accident, road accident solicitor, Solicitor, Voluntary Code, Worrying Thing