Quick Answer Insurance companies use specific tactics to minimize car accident payouts: requesting early recorded statements, sending patients to IMEs, disputing medical necessity, and exploiting documentation gaps. The best defense is immediate, comprehensive medical evaluation with litigation-ready records.

Tactic 1: The Recorded Statement

Within hours of your accident, the at-fault driver's insurer may call asking for a recorded statement. You are not required to give one to another party's insurer. Statements made in shock and pain, before the full extent of your injuries is known, are frequently used to dispute later-developing symptoms. Decline politely and consult an attorney first.

Tactic 2: The Quick Settlement Offer

Early settlement offers — often made before you've completed medical treatment or even received your MRI results — are designed to close your claim for a fraction of its value before you understand the extent of your injuries. Do not accept any settlement offer before you reach maximum medical improvement and have a complete clinical record.

Tactic 3: The IME Cutoff

Carriers schedule IMEs with physicians known for issuing denial opinions. The IME report is then used to cut off No-Fault benefits. The counter: a comprehensive treating record from MAIC that documents objective findings across months of treatment — a record that one 30-minute examination cannot credibly override.

Tactic 4: The Pre-Existing Condition Argument

Any prior back problem, neck complaint, or orthopedic history will be used to argue that your current injuries are pre-existing rather than accident-related. The counter is temporal documentation — a treating record that establishes you were asymptomatic or at baseline before the accident, and documents the change in condition following the collision.

MAIC builds records that address all four tactics from the first visit. Call (888) 991-5290.