GEICO: 3rd Largest Automobile Insurance Company in the U.S.
Don’t let the cute little lizard in the commercials fool you; GEICO is a giant in the auto insurance industry. GEICO was founded in 1936. Since then, it has grown into the third-largest automobile insurer in the United States. They were the second-largest until Progressive grew to join State Farm above it. GEICO currently insures over 15 million drivers across the country. As a result, numerous GEICO claims are pending at any given moment.
GEICO Claims Adjusters Arguing Fault/Liability
Claims adjusters at every insurance company may argue with you about who is “at fault” or liable for the accident. We have seen GEICO cases where the adjuster argues that the person who was rear-ended was 50% at fault for a rear-end auto collision. This tactic can discourage the injured party from getting the medical care he needs for fear he will be out-of-pocket for the bills. Fear of non-coverage of the bills can make a victim even more victimized than the accident! If you are being told that your bills will not be taken care of by an at-fault party’s insurance carrier, you should speak to an auto accident attorney about your rights.
GEICO Claims Adjusters Recording Conversations
Often, when you file a claim, the adjuster will tell you they want to take a recorded statement. We recommend that you never agree to do this. Anything you say on those recordings can be used against you. Anything you agree to in haste is binding. One poor accident victim learned this the hard way when he agreed to settle early on before realizing the full extent of his injuries, and a Court of Appeals ruled that he was out of luck because an oral settlement agreement is binding.
Even if they don’t ask, you should assume everything you say is being recorded. Did you know that in Texas they do not have to ask your permission to record a phone call? Both Federal Law and Texas Law allow recording a telephone conversation as long as one party consents. (If anyone is out of state, other state laws could prohibit this, but as long as all parties to the conversation are in Texas, only one must consent to the recording.) Thus, it’s best to assume everything you say is being recorded and can and will be used against you.
GEICO Claims Adjusters Reducing the Medical Bills For “Usual and Customary” Charges
GEICO, like many insurers, does not necessarily go by the billed amount of your medical bills. Often, they reduce bills based on what they determine are the “usual and customary” charges for the same care in the same area. It is not uncommon for an insurance company to use this method to reduce medical bills to less than the actual amount you owe, then make an offer based on those amounts. The total offer may even be less than what you owe!
In litigation, their “in-house” attorneys (or “captive counsel”) may hire their own “expert” witnesses who testify, often by affidavit, that the billed amounts are not reasonable and therefore should not be “allowed.” These so-called experts may be nurse practitioners, doctors, chiropractors, or many other professionals.
ClaimsTECH Solutions Buying Hospital Liens
One tactic we have seen from GEICO is buying an injured person’s hospital lien for a fraction of the original charge from the hospital through a company called ClaimTECH Solutions. While paying your hospital bill at a reduced rate might seem like a noble thing to do, the motives for this are not so altruistic.
When a case goes to trial, juries often will link the pain and suffering award to some fraction/multiple of the medical bills. When medical bills are low, they can anchor the jury and keep it from awarding a large amount. Additionally, in Texas, you can show the jury only the actual amount incurred for medical expenses, not the original amount charged when a discount is taken. So that $20,000.00 hospital bill that gets settled for $5,000.00 now appears to the jury as if it were only a $5,000.00 bill—giving the jury the false impression that the accident was less serious and therefore not worthy of a high pain and suffering award.
Once the hospital bill is settled for a fraction of the charge, an insurance adjuster can use that lower settlement number as the basis for calculating the claim’s settlement value. As a result, you can expect a lower total settlement offer. Insurance companies can do this when you do not have a Houston car wreck lawyer, in part because the hospitals typically make you sign an assignment of benefits to the hospital, which gives them the ability to pursue and negotiate with the insurance company without telling you, if you do not know, to take action to protect your rights.
How Can You Fight GEICO When They Try to Pay Off The Lien and Devalue Your Case?
A car accident lawyer has several tools to combat this practice. Early on, the lawyer can send a letter to the hospital notifying them that, by contract, the lawyer has an assignment in the case and that the hospital is not authorized to negotiate the bills. After that, any such attempt by the medical provider to negotiate could constitute tortious interference with the attorney-client contract, thereby potentially exposing the insurance company and/or the hospital to liability. Second, you can sue GEICO for interfering with the attorney-client contract by paying bills subject to an attorney’s lien.
The Importance of Speaking to an Attorney Early
All of the above tactics that may be used by GEICO and/or other insurers are aimed at devaluing your claim. Getting an attorney early on is the best way to combat these tactics. Both methods for combating GEICO’s lien payoff tactic require the client to engage an attorney early. The attorney-client contract allows the attorney to demand that the hospital and insurance company cease and desist from interfering with the contract. If you have been in an accident with GEICO, get legal advice before you try to fight this large corporation on your own. You do not have to go it alone. Call Simmons and Fletcher, P.C., for a free consultation today.
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