You were just rear-ended on I-10 near the Hawkins Boulevard exit. Your neck hurts, your back is stiff, and the adrenaline is starting to wear off. Within 48 hours, the other driver's insurance company calls. They sound sympathetic. They ask how you are doing. Then they offer you a check to "take care of everything."
That check will not take care of everything. It will take care of the insurance company's bottom line.
Insurance companies are not in the business of paying you what your claim is worth. They are in the business of paying you as little as possible. Here are seven tactics they use and how to protect yourself.
Tactic 1: The Quick Settlement Offer
This is the most common play. Within days of your accident, an adjuster calls with a settlement offer. The number sounds reasonable at first glance. Maybe it covers your current medical bills and a little extra for your trouble.
The problem is that you do not yet know the full extent of your injuries. That neck pain could be a herniated disc requiring surgery. That back stiffness could turn into chronic pain that limits your ability to work for years. Once you accept a settlement and sign a release, you are done. You cannot come back for more money when the MRI reveals a problem that did not show up in the emergency room.
What to do: Never accept a settlement offer before you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), the point where your doctors say your condition has stabilized. Only then can the true value of your claim be calculated.
Tactic 2: Recorded Statements
Shortly after your accident, the insurance adjuster may ask for a "recorded statement" about what happened. They frame it as routine, just getting the facts. It is anything but routine.
Recorded statements are a tool designed to lock you into answers that can be used against you later. The adjuster may ask leading questions to get you to minimize your injuries ("So you are feeling better today?"), admit partial fault ("Could you have been going a little fast?"), or create inconsistencies between your statement and the police report.
What to do: Politely decline the recorded statement. You are not legally required to give one to the other driver's insurance company. Let your personal injury attorney handle all communication with the insurer.
Tactic 3: Surveillance and Social Media Monitoring
If your claim involves significant damages, the insurance company may hire a private investigator to follow you. They are looking for video of you doing anything that contradicts your reported injuries: carrying groceries, playing with your kids, bending over in the yard.
They also monitor your social media. A photo of you smiling at a family gathering can be twisted into evidence that you are not really in pain. A check-in at a gym or park becomes proof that your injuries are exaggerated.
What to do: Be honest about your injuries and limitations with your doctor. Avoid posting on social media about your activities, and set all accounts to private. Tell your attorney if you believe you are being followed or surveilled.
Tactic 4: Disputing Your Medical Treatment
Insurance companies love to second-guess your medical care. Common tactics include:
- Claiming treatment is excessive: "You did not really need that many physical therapy sessions"
- Questioning your choice of doctor: "You should have gone to an in-network provider"
- Arguing treatment is unrelated: "That shoulder surgery was for a pre-existing condition, not the accident"
- Using an IME (Independent Medical Examination): They send you to a doctor they chose and pay for, who predictably concludes your injuries are less severe than your treating physician says
What to do: Follow your doctor's treatment plan consistently. Keep all appointments. Document everything. Your attorney can challenge the insurance company's medical opinions with evidence from your actual treating physicians.
Tactic 5: Blaming Pre-Existing Conditions
If you had any prior injury or medical condition, the insurance company will try to attribute your current symptoms to that history rather than the accident. Degenerative disc disease, prior back problems, previous surgeries, old sports injuries - anything in your medical records becomes ammunition.
Texas law protects you here. Under the eggshell plaintiff doctrine, the at-fault party takes the victim as they find them. If the accident aggravated a pre-existing condition and made it significantly worse, the responsible driver is liable for that worsening.
What to do: Be upfront with your attorney about your medical history. An experienced lawyer knows how to present medical evidence showing the difference between a pre-existing condition and the additional harm caused by the accident.
Tactic 6: Delay, Delay, Delay
Time is the insurance company's friend, not yours. Common delay tactics include:
- Requesting the same documents repeatedly
- Claiming they never received paperwork you already sent
- Transferring your file between adjusters
- Saying they need "more time to investigate"
- Making low offers they know you will reject, then going silent for weeks
The goal is to wear you down financially. Bills pile up, you cannot work, and eventually the pressure makes a lowball offer look better than continuing to wait. They also know that Texas has a two-year statute of limitations. If they stall long enough and you do not file a lawsuit in time, you lose your right to recover entirely.
What to do: Having an attorney sends a clear message that you are serious and that delay tactics will not work. Your lawyer can set deadlines, file suit if necessary, and keep the claim moving forward.
Tactic 7: Minimizing Pain and Suffering
Insurance companies will try to reduce the non-economic portion of your claim by arguing your pain is not that bad, that soft tissue injuries do not warrant significant compensation, or that you recovered quickly. They use formulas and algorithms designed to undervalue human suffering.
Pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and the impact on your relationships are real damages that deserve real compensation. A skilled attorney knows how to document and present these damages in a way that reflects their true impact on your life.
What to do: Keep a pain journal documenting your daily symptoms, limitations, and emotional struggles. This creates a record that supports your claim for non-economic damages.
Fight Back Against Insurance Tactics With an El Paso Injury Lawyer
Insurance companies have teams of adjusters, lawyers, and algorithms working to minimize your claim. You deserve someone fighting just as hard on your side.
Lovett & Murray has spent over 30 years fighting insurance companies on behalf of injured El Paso residents. We know every tactic in their playbook because we have seen them all. We handle your case on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we win.
Do not let an insurance company pressure you into accepting less than you deserve. Contact us today for a free consultation or call 915-757-9999. We will review your case, explain your options, and take the fight to the insurance company so you can focus on healing.