Car Accidents
Inside Information on Negotiating with Each Insurance Company
Below is an analysis of the car insurance companies you might be faced with a car accident injury claim. In these pages, you will find inside information on how these insurers value personal injury claims. Learn what you can do to maximize the value of your claim.
Listed are links to information about and analysis of the insurance carriers with the largest shares of the consumer auto insurance market in the Baltimore-Washington region. These 8 insurance companies currently account for 98% of auto insurance policies written in Maryland and probably 80% of the market share in the United States.
Major Auto Insurers
More Auto and Commercial Insurers
The insurance carriers listed below are primarily involved in commercial auto insurance for businesses that operate trucks and other vehicles. Commercial auto insurance policies tend to have much higher coverage limits compared to typical consumer auto insurance policies.
- CHUBB Insurance
- MAIF
- Penn National
- Safeco
- Cincinnati
- CNA
- Travelers
- Zurich
- The Hartford
- Encompass
- Farmers Insurance
- Mercury Insurance
- Mid-Atlantic AAA
- Northland
- Paramount: Car Insurance Claims and Settlements
- Selective Insurance: Auto Accident Claims and Settlements
- Ameriprise
- State Auto
- AMICA Insurance
- Agency Insurance (AIC)
- Auto-Owners Insurance
- Old Republic
- Esurance
- Elephant Insurance
Insurance Adjusting Companies
Most insurance carriers handle claims in-house. However, some carriers refer the handling of their auto claims out to 3rd party insurance adjusters. The 2 largest outside adjuster companies are listed below.
Trucking companies often self-insure so they act as their own insurance companies:
Common Truck Accident Defendants
- UPS claims
- FedEx claims
- J.B. Hunt claims
- Swift Transportation claims
- Ruan Transportation claims
- Keystone Freight claims
- Old Dominion Claims
- Werner claims
- Cowan claims
- Schneider claims
- CR England claims
- Cowan claims
- Claims against private carriers like Giant, Costco, Walmart, Pepsi, etc.
Every insurance company has the same paradigm: receive as much money in premiums and payout as little as possible.
But when it comes to negotiating a settlement or battling an insurance company in litigation, they are surprisingly very different. Each insurer charts a different course of action to meet their “take in a ton and payout pennies” goal. So each company has a very different strategy in dealing with personal injury claims.
Why do you care how the insurance company chooses to approach your case? To maximize the value of your settlement or case, you need to understand how the company operates and thinks. You must know when the insurer is bluffing. Also, it is always best to know what the insurance company’s weaknesses are and how to exploit them.
Some companies prefer to avoid expending resources on litigation and look to settle claims as much as possible. Others tend to be much more aggressive and much more willing to refuse settlement and take cases to trial. There are also differences in what insurance adjusters at the various carriers will expect and accept in terms of medical records and other evidence. Understanding how insurers handle claims is very important. Being familiar with the different methods and strategies employed by the major auto insurance companies is often critically important to getting negotiating a fair settlement. Knowing how the different insurance carriers operate can also help determine when to reject settlement offers and take cases to court.
There is one take-home lesson that extends to virtually every personal injury case regardless of who the insurance company is. You have to ask yourself whether you want your money fast or you want to get all of the money you possibly can out of your case. Because you are likely to get more money for your case if you file a lawsuit. This can be done quickly but it does take more time than a pre-suit out-of-court settlement. If you take your case to trial or if you settle on the courthouse steps, you are likely to get more than if you settle that case without filing suit. Is it worth it to you to wait? Only you can make that decision.
More Information to Help You With Your Claim
- Do you want to maximize the value of your personal injury cases? Learn how to think like an insurance adjuster. If you see it from the adjuster’s eyes, you can exploit their weaknesses and maximize the value of your case.
- Is there a formula to determine the settlement value of my claim? The answer is absolutely yes. (And no.)
- How long will my case take to reach a settlement?
- Defeating insurance company’s tricks is easier than you think
- What to do after the insurance company denies your claim
- A free consultation is a valuable opportunity for victims.