Should I hire an attorney for my car insurance claim?
Hiring an attorney for a car insurance claim usually isn't necessary. Insurance companies are willing to negotiate with you. The average property damage liability claim is $3,290.
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Joel Ohman
Founder & CFP®
Joel Ohman is the CEO of a private equity backed digital media company. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, author, angel investor, and serial entrepreneur who loves creating new things, whether books or businesses. He has also previously served as the founder and resident CFP® of a national insurance agency, Real Time Health Quotes. He has an MBA from the University of South Florida. Jo...
Founder & CFP®
UPDATED: Oct 20, 2022
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UPDATED: Oct 20, 2022
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident car insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one car insurance company and cannot guarantee quotes from any single company.
Our partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from top car companies please enter your ZIP code above to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
On This Page
- The truth is that in most cases, the insurance company is willing to negotiate with you and hiring a lawyer isn’t necessary
- If you and the insurance company cannot reach an understanding, then you might want to hire a lawyer
- Find a lawyer experienced in car insurance lawsuits and who is confident in winning
- The average property damage liability claim is $3,290
If you have to file a car insurance claim, you may be wondering if you need a lawyer. The truth is that in most cases, you are not going to need a car insurance attorney to help you with your claim.
There may be some instances in which this is necessary, but in most cases, you will simply file your claim, possibly have to haggle over the money you get for the damages, get a check, and you’re done.
From time to time, you will see commercials on TV from lawyers that tell you not to trust the insurance companies.
They’ll say that the insurance companies are out to steal your money and make sure you don’t get what you deserve after an accident.
The truth is that in most cases, the insurance company is willing to negotiate with you and hiring a lawyer isn’t necessary.
There are some cases, however, where a lawyer may be what you need. When this happens, you will want to hire the right kind of lawyer.
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Is it worth hiring an attorney for a car accident?
You might not believe this, but you should only see a lawyer as a last resort.
The reason for this is that lawyers are expensive and you may not be able to get a lawyer on a contingency basis if you are simply fighting to get the right amount of money for the damages to your car or to yourself.
There are several steps that you will want to take after the first settlement offer and before hiring a lawyer. For example, you can negotiate for more money on your own behalf.
You do this by providing a list of damages and the quoted estimate for each piece of damage. This can apply both to your car and to medical expenses.
In addition, if long-term care might be needed, you only need to provide a list of services that will be required and the cost of those services. If you prove your case, the insurance company will pay without ever going to court.
If you and the insurance company cannot reach an understanding, then you might want to hire a lawyer.
If your case won’t exceed more than $30,000 in damages, then in most cases you can expect to have to pay for the lawyer out of pocket, providing a retainer up front.
You may also need a lawyer if the person who is at fault in the accident, providing it isn’t you, doesn’t have enough insurance or doesn’t have insurance at all.
Before you get a lawyer, you need to keep in mind that you cannot get blood from a stone. Suing someone with no money means that you have spent more money and the other person still can’t pay for damages.
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What kind of lawyer should I hire?
One of the things that you should avoid at all costs is hiring a lawyer that claims that they are a jack-of-all-trades. You don’t want a jack-of-all-trades. You want a specialist.
You want to find a lawyer that not only has a lot of experience with insurance company lawsuits, but you also want to ensure that they are a winner in those suits.
Your consultation with a lawyer should be free. Some of the things you should look for are:
- Professionalism
- Courtesy
- Proof of experience
In addition, they should listen to you during the consultation, tell you what the chances are that you will win your case, and then tell you how much it is going to cost you.
If you might be in for a large settlement, the lawyer will likely take your case on contingency.
What this means is that they will take a percentage of your winnings, but they don’t charge you anything if the case is lost. The average percentage is 30 percent.
What happens if I hire a lawyer and we lose our case?
In many cases, if you sue for more money and you lose, you can still get the original settlement offer. While this may not be the perfect scenario, it is better than nothing at all.
Of course, if you lose, there is every possibility that you will be required to pay the court costs and lawyer fees for the insurance company.
If this happens, you will not be able to collect from the insurance company at all.
That is why you should only hire a lawyer if they are confident that the case can be won!
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Joel Ohman
Founder & CFP®
Joel Ohman is the CEO of a private equity backed digital media company. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, author, angel investor, and serial entrepreneur who loves creating new things, whether books or businesses. He has also previously served as the founder and resident CFP® of a national insurance agency, Real Time Health Quotes. He has an MBA from the University of South Florida. Jo...
Founder & CFP®
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.