Aviation Attorney

Many of us will never, thank goodness, need to enlist the services of road accident solicitors. But accidents do happen, so imagine this. You’re going about your business driving in your car when you’re hit in the rear by another car. You are not liable for the accident. So, as the law states that you must, you both stop and swap contact and insurance details and you go on your way planning to contact your insurers later on in the day.

Then, also imagine that at home, before you have even found the time to call your insurers, a representative from the other driver’s insurance company knocks on your door. Then, he or she offers to write you a cheque there and then in order to compensate you for your injuries and losses. You think, this is fantastic!
However, road accident solicitors might advise you to stop and reflect on whether this is such a great deal after all. It is more and more common for insurance companies to try to contact the claimant to try and settle their claim right away. When companies do this it is almost always very promptly. Believe it or not, there have been reports of insurance company representatives arriving at the scene of an accident offering to resolve claims on the spot.

Of course, this all seems like very efficient service on the insurance companies’ parts, but road accident solicitors warn against the practice. Think about the reasons why insurance companies would want claims settled 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.

Recently there have been warnings from road accident solicitors and consumer groups that insurance companies may be trying to save themselves a good deal of money using the facade of great service. This is because, should they agree to the proposed amount of compensation, the insurance company requires the claimant to sign a form stating that they accept the offer in full and final settlement of the claim. In other words, on signing that form, consumers sign away the right to make any further claim, regardless of the involvement of road accident solicitors or how injuries may worsen.

Consumers therefore run the risk of accepting a claim worth less than what they’re entitled to and what they may need. After a road accident it is not uncommon for the full extent of injuries to become clear after several days or even weeks. Compensation is partly intended to pay for ongoing treatment of accident victims’ injuries, so a full understanding of the extent of the injuries is important before accepting payment. Road accident solicitors therefore advice that claimants take both legal and medical advice before accepting any offer of 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.