Insurance Companies Apply Pressure to Legimate Accident Claim Victims to Settle their Claims for Less

BBC Breakfast Television and Radio 4’s Money Box programme have featured one of Camps’ clients in reports about the lengths to which some insurance companies will go to settle accident victim’s claims for less than the full amount they are worth. The programme featured an interview with our client, Kimberley Harrison, who had an encounter with an insurance company representative shortly after being injured in a head-on car crash in March last year.

Kimberley suffered severe facial injuries in the crash, but whilst she should have been recovering from her ordeal, she was harassed by persistent phone calls from agents working for the other driver’s insurance company. In her words;

“From the day I got home, the insurance company phoned me and (they) were pressuring me not to take it any further – not to seek legal advice. I was really shocked. He (the agent) was really forceful, like a bully – really trying to push me to close a deal.”

She instructed Camps Solicitors to handle her claim for compensation, but even then the insurance company, Quinn Direct, would not give up. Their representatives posed as her solicitor in order to obtain her medical reports. Kimberley said she had no idea that insurance companies would behave in this way, but unfortunately this is not the first time that Camps Solicitors have come across such tactics.

Camps have come across cases of so-called “doorstepping” before, with insurance companies putting pressure on legitimate accident victims to settle their claims, often within hours of their accident and usually for much less than the claim is actually worth. We would always advise accident victims to seek independent legal advice and undergo a medical assessment before considering any offers of compensation.

Without qualified medical evidence there is a substantial risk they will be under-compensated and they might not be able to recover the cost of any private medical treatment which may be required. We would advise people who feel they are in a vulnerable condition following an accident that they should concentrate on making a full recovery rather than considering settlement.

If you have been involved in an accident on the road that was not your fault and you have been approached by representatives from an insurance company, either over the phone or in person, you need expert legal representation. Camps Solicitors will deal directly with any insurance company, so you don’t have to. What’s more, we will report any incidents involving the harassment of our clients to the relevant authorities, so that they can stop dodgy insurance companies in their tracks.

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Neil Worrall

Marketing Assistant

Camps Solicitors

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