Why don’t insurance companies want to pay you the compensation you deserve? Insurance companies aren’t necessarily the bad guy in a personal injury case. However, it is very important that you understand big multi-billion dollar insurance companies want to make money in order to keep their stockholders happy. It doesn’t matter whether it is your insurance company. The less that they pay you, the better their business does. This is a fact.

Did you know that out of a dollar of insurance premium, only about 6 cents is paid out to people who have been injured? Yet more than 45 cents of that dollar goes to overhead and profits. After somebody has been injured in an accident, it’s not uncommon for insurance companies to never even offer a settlement.

Respected law professor Jay M. Feinman described in his book how insurance companies try to get out of paying claims. He called the technique the 3D’s – Delay, Deny and Defend. This practice was initially put into place as a way to cut losses on fraudulent claims. However, these companies soon discovered they could explode their profits by delaying and denying legitimate claims as well. As set forth in his book, if you are hurt in certain types of car accidents, the strategy will usually be to delay handling your claim, deny that you were even hurt, and possibly defend their decision in a protracted legal battle unless or until you are protected by a lawyer. (Feinman, Jay M., “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What you Can Do About It,” Penguin/Portfolio Publishing, New York, NY, 2010.

And, don’t take it for granted that your insurance company is going to be interested in paying you either. The insurance company’s main objective today isn’t to protect you. It’s to protect its profits. Remember, although your agent represents you, when it comes to his or her company paying out money, they are no different than any other insurance company. They want to pay as little as possible. For that reason, the Law Offices of Ronald B. Laba advises accident victims to seek legal help before accepting any type of settlement offer.

At a time when insurance company profits are soaring, this seems to fly in the face of hard working individuals who have been seriously injured and who somehow have to figure out how to get their lives back in order. It’s hard enough to make ends meet today, and getting injured shouldn’t have to make things worse. When you add the stress of trying to negotiate with these claims professionals, most people simply don’t want to deal with the added frustration – and they give up. They take what is offered, and unfortunately, usually end up receiving less than if they had gotten some help.