Your Road Accident Solicitor Or Their Insurer?

If you've been involved in a road accident and are making a claim against the liable

party's insurers then you might have been contacted by them or one of their representatives offering to settle your claim quickly and without any 'fuss.' So is it better to use your own road accident solicitor or accept what is offered to you by their insurer?

Recently, insurers have been lambasted in the press and by consumer and road accident solicitor groups for using a tactic known as third party capture. Or, if you prefer to know it by its slightly nicer name, third party assistance: the one used in the insurance industry.

This technique basically involves getting in touch with the victim and making an offer to settle their claim without having to go to court or go through drawan out negotiations. This will normally happen soon after the accident, normally before the victim has had time to contact a road accident solicitor. Of course, you might consider this an example of an efficient service with you in mind. If you were to ask your road accident solicitor, though, they might not see it that way.

This is simply because it is often the case that the amount of money offered to the victim of the accident by the liable party's insurers is much less than what they might have received if they had instructed a road accident solicitor to act on their behalf.

Another concern is that until very recently there was no regulation of this practice. And still all that we have to protect our interests is a code of practice which is voluntary. The guidelines, put together by the Association of British Insurers bar insurance companies from making the first contact with the victim in person. This aims to prevent victims from feeling pressured into accepting a settlement before they have received legal advice. Instead first contact should be made by telephone or letter. Also, the code dictates that insurance companies must underline the victim's right to seek independent legal advice at any stage.

At the end of the day it is the accident victim who must make the decision on what route to take to get compensation for their injury and the damage to their vehicle. But there is certainly no harm in asking a road accident solicitor's opinion, especially since he or she will most probably take on your claim on a no win no fee basis and recover their costs from the other side.

by: Carly Chaffer

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