If Allstate handles your vehicle insurance claim following a car accident, you may wonder about their process and how our lawyers handle these cases. Our car accident attorneys understand that each insurance company has its own internal processes and procedures for processing a claim for a victim following a car crash. Our knowledge of and experience with Allstate helps us negotiate the strongest possible outcomes for our clients.
Our team of attorneys handles car accident cases daily. We represent clients in countless cases involving Allstate insurance and understand their common tactics in calculating the damages they offer you in a claim. While we cannot predict the amount of money an Allstate insurance representative will offer you, nor assure you that they will accept liability for your losses, we can represent motor vehicle accident victims and fight for their rights.
We Can Investigate the Accident
At the inception of your case, if you hire our team of lawyers to represent you in an Allstate insurance claim, we will review the facts of your case and investigate the accident. Investigating the car accident entails looking at the potential causes of the collision, the parties involved, other potential parties connected to the accident, and your injuries.
As our attorneys and staff work through your case, we will sift through any evidence you have and gather additional evidence to prove fault for the accident and your injuries’ costs and effects. By accessing traffic or security cameras, gathering witness testimony, or seeking experts to testify on disputed facts, our legal team can find and use information that might not otherwise be available to you.
While Allstate will conduct its separate investigation of the insurance claim and accident, they look for reasons not to provide coverage or compensation. The insurance company searches for evidence that deflects liability and fault away from their insured and, in turn, their company.
This tactic does not mean that they will ignore clear proof, but they will not go out of their way to retrieve evidence information that can give you a leg up in the claim and case. Your lawyer is valuable because they can identify and mitigate this strategy. Your attorney will dig through the evidence to ensure they find anything to help prove who is at fault and the injuries you sustained because of the car accident.
Determine Who You Can Hold Liable for Your Injuries
As we work through the evidence, we try to prove that another driver was at fault and inquire if any other party may be liable to you. For example, multiple car collisions can mean multiple drivers share liability for your injuries. Or, in crashes involving commercial vehicles, our attorneys will examine whether an individual’s employer or the car’s owner may be to blame for your damages.
While we hope in every case to settle your claim with the insurance company (coming to a mutually agreed upon damages amount), some circumstances require other avenues to recover damages that exceed policy limits and coverage. For example, knowing at the case outset who else might be responsible for your losses can help your lawyers better manage negotiations with Allstate by seeking additional damages against all at-fault parties.
We Can Calculate Your Damages
When our attorneys represent you in a car accident insurance claim, we will not await Allstate’s calculation of your damages to decide the amount of compensation you deserve for your losses. Instead, our team will detail each of your losses from the accident.
Furthermore, we will consider the potential expenses and losses that may occur in the future because of your car accident injuries. With these calculations and considerations, we will diligently prepare your claim to negotiate on your behalf if and when Allstate makes a settlement offer.
Damages in an Allstate insurance claim can include:
- Medical costs. The money accrued for medical care and treatment, including emergency care, ambulatory transportation, surgery, inpatient hospital stays, rehabilitation, and treatment, are all recoverable in an Allstate insurance claim. Allstate’s software can miss the significance of certain medical conditions and treatments, leading to low settlement offers for your medical care. However, with medical bills and records, our lawyers can fight to get you fair compensation for these losses. Additionally, we can fight to include compensation for future likely medical expenses.
- Loss of income. Losing income is a stressful and often unavoidable consequence of becoming a car accident victim. Injuries take time to heal and can leave you with pain and limitations throughout your recovery. Victims that suffer severe or catastrophic injuries may never be the same and lose abilities necessary for their work life and to earn a living. Through an insurance claim, you can claim your income losses that occur in the short-term after a crash and those losses that will continue to accrue throughout your recovery. A common example of future losses is when a victim faces a permanent disability.
- Pain and suffering. Your pain and suffering are not something software can accurately calculate or reflect. The amount of pain you endure, whether physical, emotional, or mental, requires attention and analysis as part of the insurance claim. An attorney will help you gather the support and evidence to prove these losses and fight for them as part of your damages insurance claim with Allstate.
- Property. While property damage is not an injury, in most cases, an insurance claim will consider all your losses together when determining the settlement offer. Suppose your vehicle sustains significant damage making it a total loss. In that case, your attorney can seek the value of your loss or, if repairs are possible, the cost of repairs and vehicle rental while you await the completion of the work on your vehicle.
How Allstate Determines Compensation in a Car Accident Injury Claim?
Our calculation versus Allstate’s calculation of damages and the initial settlement offer will likely be far apart. While we work to get you every penny you’ve lost, Allstate will try to pay you the lowest amount possible based on their findings and available evidence. To come to the number the insurer considers your total losses, they will Determine damages using a software program called Colossus.
Calculation of Damages Through Their Software
The Colossus software used by Allstate is a popular program among insurance companies when processing claims for covered individuals. An insurance adjuster plugs certain codes into the system, and the program spits out the amount of money they believe you sustained in losses due to the accident. Like any computer or automated program, the Colossus system cannot always fairly calculate a victim’s losses.
People have scrutinized the program and insurance companies because of the inconsistent outcomes from one claimant to another. Depending on how it categorizes your injuries, what medical bills it considers, and what it determines are your losses’ serious effects, the software will provide a range from which a claims adjuster can make a settlement offer.
However, the software’s calculation is not the final offer. It simply provides a range that the damages may fall within for your claim. From there, an insurance adjuster will consider the liability and the fault percentage to finalize the settlement offer amount.
Allstate May Reduce Damages Based on Liability Determinations
After Allstate computes your damages through their software, an adjuster takes these damages and determines fault and liability in the case. If the insurer attributes any fault to you, they will diminish your damages award to account for that percentage of fault. Depending on how much fault they put on you, this determination can significantly affect your compensation.
Our Team Will Work to Negotiate a Settlement for You
With the power of information and evidence in your case, our team will fight for your rights and compensation in an Allstate insurance claim. The insurance company has lawyers backing them throughout the claims process. However, our team of attorneys will represent your interests until resolving the matter.
Accept Only Offers You Approve
Often car accident victims are apprehensive about hiring an attorney because they believe they cannot control the decision-making in their case. This assumption is a myth. You, the client, always control whether or not you will accept a settlement offer. Your attorney will always present you with a settlement offer by the insurer, even if they believe it is low or insufficient.
They will take the time to discuss the settlement offer with you and advise you on the possible next steps and whether or not they believe the offer is in your interest. Ultimately, you decide if you accept Allstate’s offer to settle your car accident insurance claim.
Going to Court if Necessary to Fight for You
While we hope to resolve your claim through a settlement, it sometimes may not be possible due to issues that arise in negotiations with Allstate. If this happens, it is not the end of the road. Our team will represent you and provide you with all available options to fight for the compensation you deserve. In some cases, going to court is your best opportunity to get maximum compensation.
When Should You Call Us for a Free Case Consultation?
Call us immediately after a car accident involving Allstate insurance coverage. Contact us or call (602) 730-4530 for your free case consultation and learn more about your case and legal options. Our Phoenix personal injury attorneys are here to help!
Jason Hutzler
Jason Hutzler is the founding partner of Phoenix personal injury law firm Hutzler Law, and represents individuals throughout Arizona. His practice is primarily dedicated to personal injury and car accident claims, leveraging his deep expertise as a former insurance adjustor to navigate the complexities of insurance negotiations.