There are hundreds of insurance companies in America and thousands of insurance adjusters.

What they all have in common are:

1. They are trained in techniques to reduce the value of your claim, convince you to take a small settlement and generally have the upper hand when you are not represented by an attorney who knows the laws

2. While they may act like your friend, they do not have your best interests in mind and can even lie to you without "getting in trouble"

3. Overall, their job is to pay you as little money as possible in order to maximize insurance company profits

We have written several articles that provide you with general tips in dealing with insurance companies. If you have not already read some of them then you should read What Insurers Don’t Want You to Know, Do I Have to Accept My Work Comp Insurance Settlement?. In this article, we are going to give you some tips in dealing with specific insurance companies and their adjusters.

 

So how can you deal with insurance adjusters from EMC for example?

EMC is a Des Moines, Iowa based company that is one of the largest workers compensation insurers in Iowa. They also sell property and casualty insurance but do not have the same market share in that category as they do in workers' compensation. Generally, most of EMC's adjusters are nice people who will respond to your phone calls, emails, and letters. However, do not let them convince you that they are your friend or that the amount of money they say they owe you is really all they owe.

So how can you deal with insurance adjusters from Liberty Mutual?

Liberty Mutual is a very large insurance company that provides coverage for property and casualty, workers' compensation, etc. Most years they are one of the top three writers of workers compensation coverage in Iowa. Their insurance adjusters have access to in house Iowa attorneys when a question or problem arises in a case. Sometimes, the attorney will take over the case from the insurance adjuster who may not be experienced with issues in your case. Also, sometimes they will hire outside attorneys to help them evaluate and deal with your case. If they do assign an attorney to assist or adjust your case, you should definitely consider contacting your own attorney because you could make many costly mistakes if you are not properly represented. For example, in a workers' compensation case for an injury that occurred after July 1, 2017, if you convinced by Liberty Mutual's attorney or insurance adjuster to "retire" or leave your job instead of being fired then you probably cost yourself tens of thousands of dollars. The workers' compensation system and the many traps for injured workers that Iowa Republicans put into the law in 2017 make it far too dangerous and potentially very costly for an injured worker to try to navigate the system on their own.

So how can you deal with insurance adjusters from Sedgwick or Gallagher Bassett?

Sedgwick and Gallagher Basset are different from other insurance company adjusters because they are not an insurance company, but rather TPA's- third-party administrators. This means that they are either working for a self-insured company or for another insurance company who does not have their own Iowa insurance adjusters. Our experience is that often they are much harder to deal with than an adjuster from an insurance company. We have more difficulty obtaining records from their files, getting return phone calls, and responding to our letters. Overall, the vast majority of the time we end up filing suit in cases where Sedgwick or Gallagher Basset adjusters are involved with the case.

So how can you deal with insurance adjusters from AIG?

AIG is a very large insurance company based in New York, New York which has many subsidiary companies. They often have adjusters who take the New York approach which we have found means they will not return phone calls, will not timely respond to letters and emails and sometimes are even rude and seem like they could care less about the problems our client is facing with pain, financially, etc. Not all of their insurance adjusters are like this, but we have dealt with enough of them to know how they usually are.

So how can you deal with insurance adjusters from Travelers?

Travelers adjusters are often based in Overland Park, Kansas where they have a large claims center. However, Travelers is a very large company with offices throughout the country. Like Liberty Mutual and others, they have in house Iowa attorneys that help their insurance adjusters with cases. Sometimes they will help in the background giving information and strategies to the adjusters and other times they will take a more active role and basically act as the insurance adjuster in the case. If you are not represented by an attorney, it is difficult for you to receive fair compensation when Travelers is in a position of power of you because they have the money, they know the laws and have the training and techniques to pay you as little money as possible. If you are dealing with an attorney on the other side, you should definitely consider having an attorney in your corner, so you don't make a costly avoidable mistake.

So how can you deal with insurance adjusters from Zurich?

Zurich is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and is a large international insurance company with locations throughout the world. They have more than 53,000 employees and bring in more than 47 billion dollars in revenue each year. They have several subsidiary companies with one of the largest being Farmers Insurance. Usually, your claim will be handled by an adjuster many miles away who may not know the details about Iowa law. Generally, they will have been trained to pay you as little as possible regardless of what Iowa law may provide. Sometimes, they will have an Iowa adjuster assigned to your case who may treat you nice, but regardless make no mistake about it that they are going to do everything that they can to pay you as little as possible.

 

There are many more large insurance companies who do business here in Iowa and they all have slight differences in how they handle injury cases. If you think that you need an attorney to help with your case, then we offer an injury case review a no cost or risk to you. Just call (641) 792-3595 and we would be happy to discuss your situation, answer your questions, and tell you if we think you need an attorney or not. That's right, there are some cases where the best advice that we can give you is that you can handle the case on your own

If you are not ready to speak with an attorney but would like more information about Iowa injury cases then go to our Free Iowa Injury Books Page and choose the Iowa injury book that applies to your (work injury, car accident, motorcycle accident, dog bite or other personal injury matter).

 

We offer our books for free to injured Iowans because since 1997 we have seen far too many hard-working Iowans make costly mistakes and are taken advantage of by insurance companies. Finally, you can learn about Iowa injury cases in the comfort of your own home with no cost, no risk, or no obligation to request your copy now. For immediate assistance call (641) 792-3595. You can also Contact Us Here!


Read Next

Do I Have to Accept My Work Comp Insurance Settlement?

How Should You Deal with the Insurance Adjuster?

What Insurers Don’t Want You to Know

Corey Walker
Connect with me
With over 28 years legal experience, Corey has been recognized for his work as an injury attorney.