Offering you a lowball settlement is just one of the tactics insurers use to avoid giving you all the money you deserve. In some cases, insurers may: Offer preemptive settlements. Insurers want to offer you money before you’ve had a chance to get your bearings, hire an attorney, or realize the full extent of the damages you are entitled to claim for the car accident. If you are hurt and unable to think clearly, you should hold off on accepting a settlement offer. Diminish your injuries. The insurer may try to downplay your injuries, making them seem less severe or questioning their existence in the first place. One technique is to claim your injuries were pre-existing and were not actually caused by the car crash. This would make the insurance company exempt from paying for them. You’ll need compelling evidence to substantiate your injuries. Undervalue your losses. If you have other types of losses besides injuries, like property damage, the insurance adjuster may try to undervalue this loss. They may claim that your property damage does not cost as much as you say it does in an effort to offer you less money. Blame you for the collision. Another tactic insurers may use in order to save money is placing the fault for the car accident on you. If they can successfully pin even a portion of the fault on you, they could get away with paying you less money for your claim or, depending on the state, pay you nothing. Your state’s shared fault laws will determine how much compensation you can receive from a car accident. Delay in processing your claim. Sometimes insurance adjusters will engage in less-than-ethical practices to pay you less money than you deserve. They may try to take an unreasonably long time to evaluate your claim or send a response. If you have a lawyer on your side, they can communicate with the insurance company for you and make sure you understand your rights. Denying your claim altogether. In some cases, the insurance company may deny your claim outright. If this happens in your case, you could hire an attorney to help you appeal the denied claim or file a lawsuit to recover the full amount of compensation you deserve.