Why Is the Insurer Telling You Not to Get a Lawyer?

If you were injured recently in a car, truck, or other serious accident, you may have already received a call from the insurance company. Often, the adjuster will sound friendly and reassuring. They may ask how you’re doing, express concern for your well-being, and appear to care only about your best interests. You might hear statements like, “you don’t really need to worry about hiring a lawyer,” or “we’ll take care of everything so you don’t have to bother with it.”

But when you’re in pain, missing work, and lost about how you’re going to pay your bills, these messages can be confusing. You may wonder if this insurance adjuster is right—that hiring an attorney will only complicate things, or take money out of your pocket—and be tempted to follow their advice.

The truth is that no matter what the adjuster says, having your own lawyer is almost always the best choice when it comes to protecting your rights.

At Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp, we’ve spent decades representing injured people across Virginia and North Carolina, and we have earned significant recognition for our work, including being named a Best Law Firm by Best Lawyers^®. Below, we explain why it’s important to contact us after an accident, as we can help make sure you receive the compensation you deserve.

If you or a loved one has been injured by someone else’s negligence and you have questions, contact us at 833-997-1774 for a free consultation today.

Why Insurance Companies Would Prefer You Not Hire a Lawyer

Insurance companies are businesses, and like all businesses, they are primarily interested in protecting their bottom line. When you file a claim after an accident, the insurance company’s main objective isn’t to take care of you or make sure you get the compensation you need to put your life back together. Instead, the adjuster is tasked with settling your claim for as little money as possible. The less the company has to pay you, the more profit it keeps.

When you don’t have an attorney, the insurance company holds all the cards. It has a team of experienced claims adjusters, lawyers, and investigators working on its side. These professionals understand the law, know how to value claims, and are trained in negotiation tactics designed to minimize what they pay out.

You, on the other hand, are probably dealing with this process for the first time while managing your injuries, medical treatments, financial strain, and the stress of recovery. The insurance company benefits from that because when you don’t have a lawyer, you’re less likely to understand all the types of compensation you’re entitled to receive. You might think mainly about taking care of your medical bills, when a fair settlement should also account for future medical expenses, lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and property damage.

Without legal guidance, you might be inclined to settle for an amount that covers only your hospital bills while leaving you struggling when additional costs come around down the road.

Another reason insurance companies don’t want you to have your own legal representation is that they can then use various tactics to deny your claim. They might convince you to give a recorded statement that they may later use against you. They could argue that your injuries aren’t as serious as you claim or that you were partially at fault for the accident, which in Virginia would completely bar you from recovering anything.

They might also delay your claim in hopes that financial pressure will force you to accept whatever settlement they offer, even if it’s too low. When you have an experienced attorney on your side, it becomes much harder for an insurance company to manipulate you this way.

Why You Shouldn’t Go It Alone

Handling an insurance claim without an attorney on your side puts you at several serious disadvantages.

First, you probably don’t have the knowledge and experience that insurance companies have with handling claims. It’s like you’re bringing a toy sword to a battle where the other side has professional-grade weapons. The insurance company knows this imbalance exists and will use it to their advantage.

Second, without an attorney, you’re more likely to accept a settlement that seems reasonable on the surface but actually falls far short of what you deserve. Insurance companies are skilled at making lowball offers sound generous. They might tell you their offer is fair or genuinely sound like it’s the maximum they can pay under your policy. They may also pressure you to settle quickly by suggesting that if you wait or involve a lawyer, the offer might disappear.

Third, you may not recognize all the sources of compensation available to you. In many accident cases, there may be multiple insurance policies that apply or multiple parties who share liability for your injuries. An experienced attorney knows how to identify all potential sources of recovery, but if you’re handling the claim yourself, you may settle with one insurance company without realizing there are others you could pursue.

Timing is also critical in personal injury cases. Every state has a statute of limitations, which is the deadline for filing a lawsuit. If you’re negotiating with the insurance company on your own and they drag out the process, you might miss the deadline or lose your right to pursue compensation entirely.

In addition, one of the most important reasons insurers discourage you from getting an attorney is that experienced lawyers act fast to secure important evidence—sometimes, evidence that the insurance company would rather allow to disappear.

At Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp, we often begin by obtaining crash reports, contacting witnesses, requesting traffic-camera footage, securing vehicle data, and gathering medical records. Insurance companies, on the other hand, will move fast to collect evidence that will strengthen their defense. They know that if you delay or go without representation, crucial evidence may disappear.

Perhaps most importantly, going without an attorney means you miss out on having someone who will fight for your interests. When you’re injured, your focus should be on healing and getting your life back to normal. Dealing with insurance companies, gathering evidence, negotiating settlements, and potentially filing a lawsuit is stressful and time-consuming. Without an attorney, all of that falls on your shoulders to do during a time when you should be focused on recovering.

How A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help

Throughout the negotiation process, we will advocate on your behalf. We’ll counter lowball offers with evidence-based demands, push back against tactics designed to delay or deny your claim, and negotiate with the skill that comes from handling hundreds of similar cases.

If you or a loved one was injured in an accident, contact our offices right away. We will make sure important evidence is preserved, that your long-term losses are calculated correctly, and that your rights are fully protected.

In a recent case, for example, we represented a woman who was hit by an SUV while walking to her mailbox. She suffered from a traumatic brain injury as well as multiple fractures. We helped negotiate a $2.3 million settlement on her behalf.

If you want to reach out, you can find our offices in Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.