It is common knowledge that a driver or passenger of a vehicle that is rear-ended can sustain injuries, such as whiplash, neck pain, or back pain. However the damage to the vehicle may be slight especially depending on what types of vehicles were involved in the crash. Any low impact crash can yield serious injuries without substantial damage to the car. However, the insurance companies do not want you to know that and unless you have been in a low impact crash yourself, you too may think that if the car wasn’t badly damaged, how could its passengers and driver? Simple. You wouldn’t want to put your hand or your head in between two cars in a low impact crash. Would you? The cars may not sustain much damage but your hand or head certainly would.

CNN has done a report on such low impact claims. Their article Auto insurers play hardball in minor-crash claims, reports that insurance companies have a strategy to deny, delay and defend a claim.

Their objective is to make it so expensive to recover from an accident that lawyers will refuse to take low impact cases. It is noteworthy that in the age of “Tort Reform”, none of the money saving strategies of the insurance companies have impacted premiums. It would be reasonable to think that if the insurance companies are not paying out on claims then their insureds would not have to pay as much in premiums, but that is not the case. The insurance companies want you to believe that they pass the savings along to you, while they pocket the extra money.

Interestingly enough, there has been an influx of automobile insurance advertisements on television. These ads promote one of two things, either a) you will get the cheapest deal - and they failt to mention that you get what you pay for and b) their company will take care of you. They even have testimonials from people about how their company helped them. The average person will fail to notice that most of these testimonials are about car repairs, car rentals, and property damage claims. If you have been injured in an accident, and need to make a bodily injury claim and don’t have a good attorney on your side, GOOD LUCK!

Did you know that if you only buy the minimum policy required by the state in which you live (in Massachusetts it is a 20/40 policy which is $20,000 per person, $40,000 per accident) and you cause an accident where the injuries of the person you hit far exceeds your policy limits then you are personally liable for the excess? Best case scenario, don’t get into an accident. Worse case scenario, make sure you have adequate insurance in the event of a serious accident. Ask for a 100/300 policy or better and choose an insurance company who is the most reliable when dealing with bodily injury claims. You buy insurance to safeguard yourself from personal liability. If your insurance company fails to settle a claim within their policy limits, you could be personally liable.

Were you injured in an automobile collision? Contact an attorney today. Fight for your rights.