Tactics which insurance companies use to lower the value of your Mississippi car accident claim include delaying payments, asking for unnecessary paperwork, arguing about how bad your injuries are, and blaming you through comparative negligence laws.
These tactics are meant to make you accept lowball settlements or drop your claim altogether, even though you deserve full compensation for your injuries and damages.
Understanding these tactics is crucial because Mississippi’s pure comparative negligence law means any fault assigned to you directly reduces your settlement dollar-for-dollar. Insurance adjusters exploit this by aggressively investigating ways to blame you for the accident, while simultaneously questioning your injuries and treatment needs.
They might also lie about what your policy covers, set fake deadlines, or check your social media accounts for proof to use against you.
This guide tells you how Mississippi insurance companies try to lower the value of claims, how to spot bad faith behavior, and what you can do to protect your rights and get the most money possible in your settlement.
What Tactics Do Insurance Companies Use to Devalue Mississippi Car Accident Claims?
Insurance companies are businesses focused on making money, not helping you. They use specific tactics to pay you as little as possible on your claim, even when you deserve full compensation for your injuries and damages.
Delay Your Claim
Insurers intentionally slow down your claim for weeks or months. They know you’re struggling with medical bills and lost wages, hoping financial pressure will force you to accept whatever they offer. They may request endless paperwork or simply ignore your calls and emails.
Push a Quick Lowball Settlement
An adjuster might call you within hours of your accident with a settlement offer. This first offer is almost always far below what your claim is actually worth. They make these offers before you understand how badly you’re hurt or what your future medical needs will be.
Request a Recorded Statement
Adjusters ask for recorded statements, claiming they just want your side of the story. This is actually one of the most common insurance claim adjuster secret tactics to get you to say something they can use against you later. They listen for any inconsistency or admission of fault to reduce your payout.
Seek Broad Medical Authorizations
The insurance company may ask you to sign a medical authorization form. This gives them access to your entire medical history, not just records from your accident. They search through old records looking for any condition they can blame for your current injuries.
Shift Blame with Comparative Negligence
Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, which means your compensation is reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to you.
Insurers will try to blame you for as much of the accident as possible, even when it’s clearly not your fault.
Dispute Injury Severity and Treatment
Even with clear medical records, adjusters question whether your injuries are as serious as you claim. They might argue you’re faking pain or that you went to the doctor too many times. This gives them an excuse to offer less money.
Misrepresent Policy Benefits or Coverage Limits
An adjuster may lie about what the insurance policy actually covers. They might tell you the policy limits are lower than they really are or claim you can’t recover certain damages under Mississippi law when you actually can.
Create False Deadlines or Confusion
Some adjusters create fake urgency, telling you an offer is only good for today. They use confusing legal language to make the process seem scarier than it is, hoping you’ll give up and take their low offer.
Monitor Social Media and Surveillance
Insurance companies regularly check your Facebook, Instagram, and other social media accounts. They look for photos or posts that might contradict your injury claims. Some even hire private investigators to follow you around with cameras.
Challenge Property Damage and Diminished Value
The insurer often provides a lowball estimate for fixing your car. They also rarely mention your right to diminished value compensation, which is money for the loss in your car’s worth even after repairs.
What Is Insurance Bad Faith in Mississippi?
Bad faith is when an insurance company breaks its legal duty to treat you fairly and honestly. Mississippi law requires insurers to handle claims in good faith, which means they must be reasonable and fair in their dealings with you.
When insurers act in bad faith, they violate this duty without any valid reason. This can happen when they deny valid claims, delay processing without cause, or refuse to pay what they clearly owe you.
Common bad faith behaviors include:
- Unreasonable delays: Taking months to process a straightforward claim.
- Wrongful denials: Rejecting valid claims without legitimate reasons.
- Inadequate investigations: Failing to properly investigate your claim.
- Policy misrepresentation: Lying about what your policy covers.
- Lowball offers: Refusing to make reasonable settlement offers when fault is clear.
How Do First Party and Third Party Bad Faith Differ in Mississippi?
The type of bad faith case you have depends on whose insurance company you’re dealing with. This makes a big difference in how hard your case will be to prove.
First-party bad faith involves your own insurance company. This happens with claims under your uninsured motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, or medical payments coverage. You have a contract with this company, so they owe you a higher duty of care.
Third-party bad faith involves the other driver’s insurance company. You don’t have a contract with them, so the legal standard is different and usually harder to meet.
Understanding this difference helps determine your legal strategy and what evidence you’ll need to prove the insurer acted improperly.
What Evidence Proves Insurance Bad Faith?
To win a bad faith case in Mississippi, you must show the insurance company had no reasonable basis for denying or delaying your claim. Building a strong case requires careful documentation of everything.
You need to keep detailed records of every interaction with the insurance company. Save all written communications, including emails, letters, and text messages. Document every phone call with notes about what was discussed and when.
Essential evidence includes:
- Complete insurance policy: Shows exactly what the company promised to cover.
- Claim file: All documents you submitted to support your claim.
- Medical records and bills: Proof of your injuries and treatment costs.
- Correspondence: Every letter, email, and text from the insurer.
- Phone logs: Records of all calls, including dates and conversation summaries.
- Internal company documents: May be obtained through legal discovery.
The stronger your documentation, the better your chances of proving the insurance company acted unreasonably.
What Damages Are Available for Bad Faith in Mississippi?
If you prove an insurance company acted in bad faith, you can recover more than just your original claim amount. Mississippi law allows several types of additional damages to punish the insurer and make you whole.
Contractual damages cover the original amount the insurance company should have paid on your claim. These are the benefits you were entitled to under your policy or the other driver’s policy.
Consequential damages compensate you for additional losses caused by the insurer’s bad faith conduct. This includes attorney fees, credit damage from unpaid bills, and other financial harm you suffered because of their unreasonable behavior.
Emotional distress damages pay you for the anxiety, stress, and mental anguish caused by the insurance company’s conduct. This recognizes that dealing with bad faith insurers can be emotionally devastating on top of your physical injuries.
Punitive damages may be awarded in extreme cases to punish the insurance company and deter similar behavior. These damages can be substantial but are only available when the insurer’s conduct was particularly outrageous or malicious.
What Should You Do When the Adjuster Calls?
Most people want to cooperate with insurance adjusters, but your first conversation can seriously damage your claim if you’re not careful. Knowing what to say and what to avoid is crucial to protecting your rights.
Steps to Protect Your Claim in the First 48 Hours
Your actions immediately after an accident can make or break your claim. Get medical attention right away, even if you think you’re not seriously hurt. This creates an official record of your injuries that’s harder for insurers to dispute later.
Take these critical steps:
- Seek immediate medical care: Creates documentation of your injuries.
- Call the police: Ensures an official accident report gets filed.
- Photograph everything: Document injuries, vehicle damage, and the scene.
- Get witness information: Collect names and phone numbers.
- Report to your insurer: Provide only basic facts about the accident.
- Contact an attorney: Get legal advice from an experienced auto accident attorney before detailed discussions.
What Not to Sign or Say to an Adjuster
Insurance adjusters are trained to get you to say things that hurt your claim. Never say you feel “fine” or that your injuries aren’t serious, even if you think that’s true at the time. Many injuries don’t show symptoms immediately.
Avoid these common mistakes:
- Don’t give recorded statements: They will use your words against you.
- Never sign broad medical releases: Limits their access to relevant records only.
- Don’t admit any fault: Let the investigation determine what happened.
- Refuse quick settlement offers: You likely don’t know your full damages yet.
- Don’t sign releases without legal review: These documents can end your claim forever.
Medical Care and Documentation That Strengthen Your Case
Consistent medical treatment is essential for both your health and your claim. Gaps in treatment give insurance companies ammunition to argue your injuries aren’t serious or were caused by something else.
Keep detailed records of every doctor visit, prescription, and therapy session. Write down how your injuries affect your daily life, work, and relationships. This documentation becomes powerful evidence of your damages.
How Does Mississippi Law Affect Your Settlement?
Pure Comparative Negligence and Fault Allocation
Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence, which means your compensation gets reduced by whatever percentage of fault you’re assigned. If you’re found 20% at fault, your settlement will be reduced by 20%.
For example, under Mississippi’s pure comparative negligence rule, your compensation is reduced in proportion to any fault assigned to you. Insurance companies exploit this law by trying to blame you for as much of the accident as possible, even when their insured driver was clearly at fault.
Deadlines for Injury and Property Damage Claims
Mississippi law imposes time limits for filing personal injury and property damage lawsuits, so consult an attorney promptly to protect your rights. While this seems like plenty of time, waiting too long can hurt your case because evidence disappears and witnesses forget important details.
Starting your claim early gives your attorney time to thoroughly investigate the accident and build the strongest possible case. Don’t wait until the deadline approaches to take action.
UM UIM and MedPay in Mississippi
Your own insurance policy may provide additional coverage beyond what the at-fault driver’s policy offers. Understanding these coverages can significantly increase your compensation.
Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage protects you when the other driver has no insurance at all. Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage applies when the other driver’s policy limits are too low to cover all your damages.
Medical Payments (MedPay) coverage helps pay your medical bills regardless of who caused the accident. This coverage can provide immediate help with expenses while your main claim is being processed.
Diminished Value After a Mississippi Crash
Even after repairs, your vehicle is worth less than before the accident. Mississippi law allows you to recover this diminished value from the at-fault driver’s insurance company.
Insurance companies rarely volunteer information about diminished value claims because they don’t want to pay them. You must specifically ask for this compensation and may need an independent appraisal to prove your vehicle’s loss in value.
How Do You Maximize a Mississippi Car Accident Settlement?
Despite insurance company tactics, you can take specific steps to secure full compensation for your damages. The key is thorough preparation and strategic timing.
Document Every Loss and Keep a Claim File
Organization is crucial to maximizing your settlement. Keep all accident-related documents in one place, including medical bills, proof of lost wages, and repair estimates.
Start a daily journal documenting your pain levels, how injuries affect your activities, and your emotional state. This personal record becomes powerful evidence of your non-economic damages, like pain and suffering.
Coordinate Health Insurance and Liens
Your health insurance company may have the right to be repaid from your settlement for medical bills they covered. This is called subrogation, and it can significantly reduce the money you actually receive.
An experienced attorney can negotiate with health insurers and hospitals to reduce these liens, maximizing your net recovery. Sometimes liens can be reduced or eliminated entirely through skillful negotiation.
Time Your Demand After Maximum Medical Improvement
Don’t settle your claim until you reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI). MMI is when your condition has stabilized, and your doctor can predict your future medical needs.
Settling before MMI risks leaving you responsible for future medical expenses related to your accident. Wait until you understand the full scope of your injuries and treatment needs.
Respond to Lowball Offers with Evidence
When the insurance company makes an inadequate offer, don’t get emotional. Respond with a detailed counter-demand package that includes all your medical records, bills, and proof of other damages.
Explain specifically why their offer is unreasonable and provide evidence supporting your higher demand. A well-prepared response often leads to significantly improved offers.
Prepare for Litigation and Bad Faith Escalation
The willingness to file a lawsuit is often your strongest negotiating tool. Insurance companies know that juries can award substantial verdicts, so the threat of litigation motivates fair settlement offers.
If an insurer continues acting unreasonably, you may have grounds for a bad faith claim in addition to your underlying accident claim. This can substantially increase your potential recovery.
Take Action to Protect Your Future with a Mississippi Personal Injury Advocate
You deserve more than being treated like just another claim number. At Maloney-Lyons Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, we provide direct, personal attention from experienced attorneys, not case managers or junior staff.
Our commitment is to stand by our clients from the first call through the resolution of their case. With offices in Mobile and Biloxi, we serve accident victims across Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.
We handle all types of personal injury cases, including car accidents, truck crashes, and slip-and-fall incidents. Our approach is rooted in compassion, attention to detail, and relentless pursuit of justice for those who have been injured.
Contact Maloney-Lyons Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers today for a free consultation. Let us fight the insurance companies while you focus on healing.
Mississippi Car Accident Claim FAQs
Do I Have to Give a Recorded Statement to the Other Driver’s Insurer?
No, you have no legal obligation to provide a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company. These statements are used to find inconsistencies or admissions they can use to deny or reduce your claim.
Should I Sign a Blanket Medical Authorization After a Crash?
Never sign a blanket medical authorization from any insurance company. This gives them unlimited access to your entire medical history, which they’ll use to find unrelated conditions to blame for your current injuries.
How Does Mississippi Pure Comparative Negligence Reduce My Settlement?
Your final settlement gets reduced by whatever percentage of fault you’re assigned. If you’re found 25% at fault for an accident with $80,000, your recovery drops to $60,000.
What Is the Deadline to File a Mississippi Car Accident Claim?
You have three years from the accident date to file a personal injury lawsuit in Mississippi. However, evidence preservation and witness memory make it important to act much sooner than the legal deadline.
What Is Diminished Value in Mississippi, and Can I Recover It?
Diminished value is the loss in your vehicle’s market worth after an accident, even after proper repairs. Mississippi law allows you to recover this loss from the at-fault driver’s insurance company.
Can I Negotiate a Diminished Value Claim Myself?
While you can try negotiating diminished value yourself, insurance companies typically offer very little without proper documentation. An independent appraisal and experienced negotiation usually secure much higher amounts.
What Not to Say to a Car Insurance Adjuster in Mississippi?
Never admit fault, say you feel fine, speculate about facts you don’t know, or discuss previous injuries. Stick to basic, verifiable facts about what happened and avoid giving opinions or guesses.
When Does Insurer Conduct Become Bad Faith in Mississippi?
Insurance conduct becomes bad faith when they deny, delay, or underpay your claim without any reasonable justification. It’s an intentional disregard for your rights as a policyholder or accident victim.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire Maloney-Lyons Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers?
We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing upfront and no attorney fees unless we successfully recover money for you. Our fee comes from the settlement or verdict we obtain.
