Or – you could be trying to gauge how much the insures of the driver at fault in the accident you were in is going to pay you directly.
Well, if you are dealing with the insurers directly – I have some VERY grave news for you.
You are now another statistical addition to the many people that have fallen in to the Third Party Capture system. This is where the insurers of the party at fault after an accident contact you directly so settle your claim for compensation without a personal injury lawyer involved.
I will come on the reasons why this is seriously dangerous later on. For now, to confirm the reasons they want to do this are twofold:
- They will not have to pay legal fees which they are duty bound to pay in English law.
- They can pay you less compensation because you do not have an independent representative to value your claim.
The reasons they tell you they want to deal with you directly are also coincidentally twofold:
- You will get your payout faster.
- They may pay you more to reflect not having to pay legal fees.
Whilst I would never want to offend anyone out there, dealing with the third party insurers directly is, in my opinion, utterly ridiculous.
There are two ways they will go about it. They will try and settle it with you straight away for a sum between £500 – £1000 on the premise your cheque will be safely in your bank within a matter of weeks. Or, they may ask you to wait a few weeks to “see how your symptoms progress” before they make their ‘informed decision’ based on ‘real legal guidelines’ to settle your claim.
Whatever they say, I urge you to make sense of the matter and ask yourself this simple question: why would the insurers of the driver at fault, who are duty bound by law to compensate you, want to avoid using the standard Ministry of Justice protocol for claiming, and ‘bribe’ you (because in some sense of the word, that’s what it is!) to not have a lawyer in exchange for more money?
Is it because they are just nice, kind soles who want to give you more money and get your claim settled quicker? Or is it because they could easily save thousands of pounds by making sure you do not have an independent legal representative to fight tooth and nail for your maximum payout?
Take your pick.
Whatever you believe, here is the REAL ADVICE:
The fact of the matter is you must trust in the insurers that they are settling your claim for the right amount when you deal with them directly. There is no lawyer on your side to do their homework and fight hard for a higher payout. In fact, there is no one to turn to when you receive an offer. So, how do you know that this company who is legally responsible for paying you out is paying you the correct amount?
You don’t. So take it on my experience that insurer’s interests are to save as much money as possible; hence why they would rather deal with you directly and ‘bribe’ you in sticking with it using offers of increased payouts. With a fully qualified personal injury lawyer representing you for your claim, through the standard Ministry of Justice standard protocol, you should be guaranteed a maximum payout because you have an expert on your side fighting for you.
And guess what – with a proper personal injury law firm like us, it never costs you a penny anyway. So, why wouldn’t you want to safeguard your maximum payout at no cost to you? You will receive 100% of the genuine maximum amount of compensation you are legally entitled to receive.
It’s as simple as that.
The HORROR Stories
We continuously get calls from people who have accepted low offers from third party insurers directly, and then they call us up to ask about making a claim the proper way when they realise they have been paid thousands of pounds less than what they are entitled to receive.
But the problem is – once you’ve accepted that amount and banked that cheque in full and final settlement of your claim, its game over; you cannot go back and you cannot try and claim for a higher amount.
Your claim is settled. Well, under settled, potentially. But either way, it’s concluded now – you have received potentially far less money than what you are entitled to receive, and the insurers have saved themselves a bucket load of money at your expense.
It’s genuinely sad to speak to people who have fallen victim to this type of activity, and we always sympathise with them and wish they had come to us sooner. But that’s the way things go unfortunately. So, let the thousands of people who have under settled their claims be an example for you if you are currently dealing with, or are considering dealing with, the third party insurers directly.
Just remember these main facts about Third Party Capture:
- Insurers will always offer low amounts – we solicitors on pretty much every case we run always end up fighting them for higher payouts
- Insurers stand to save a lot of money by setting your claim outside of the normal process
- There is no one on your side looking out for your best interests at all – you are at the mercy of trusting the insurer.
My advice is for you to contact a specialist firm of personal injury lawyers before you even consider entering in to any form of relationship with the third party directly. The amount of times we have saved potential victims of this practice, and sadly spoken to those who have already settled their claims and it’s too late, is unbelievable.
Lastly, it’s in no way clever or beneficial to go along with it directly until you get an offer. You may find it very difficult to find a lawyer who is willing to provide you with a valuation as a one off freebie; you would need to instruct them, and at such a late stage, it could end up prolonging your claim in comparison to getting a lawyer and doing things the right way from the start.