Insurance companies routinely make settlement offers quickly after a wreck. They will do so under the guise of taking care of emergency room bills and then give some money on top of that for pain and suffering. After sending a check for these losses, the case will be settled and the insurance company can avoid paying any additional compensation that the injured party may discover they need after fully understanding the extent of their injuries. Put simply, the faster an insurance company can settle a case in the immediate aftermath of a wreck, the better the likelihood that it can pay less than it would otherwise.
If an insurance company tries to send a check, it would be a mistake for the claimant to cash it because the insurance company may make the argument that this action was an acceptance of a settlement offer, thus ending a claim. Therefore, whenever an insurance company is talking settlement offers or sending a check, a person should first consult with a lawyer to see whether or not their offer is appropriate in the given case.