Why You Shouldn’t Trust the Insurance Companies After a Serious Accident in Ohio

In most cases, seeking financial compensation after an accident in Ohio involves dealing with the insurance companies. All drivers in Ohio are required to carry liability insurance, which covers drivers’ and passengers’ injuries when the policyholder is at fault. Unfortunately, filing a successful insurance claim after a serious accident is far more difficult than it should be, which makes it essential to work with an experienced Columbus personal injury lawyer who can deal effectively with insurance companies.

Why is filing a successful insurance claim after a serious accident so difficult? Simply put, the insurance companies put their interests first. Regardless of the serious (and potentially even life-altering) consequences you are facing, their goal is to pay you as little as possible.

5 Reasons Not to Trust the Insurance Companies After a Serious Accident

Were you seriously injured in an accident in Ohio? If so, here are five reasons not to trust the insurance companies to pay what they owe:

1. The Insurance Companies Prioritize Their Profits Above All Else

Like all big companies, the insurance companies prioritize their profits above all else. In other words, they aren’t looking out for accident victims—they are looking out for themselves. The more the insurance companies pay, the more this hurts their bottom line. As a result, if they can avoid paying for the injuries of accident victims, they will.

This isn’t just conjecture. Consider this, which the American Association for Justice wrote just last year:

“[P]roperty casualty insurers made a record $169 billion in profit in 2024—even as they raised prices and pushed for laws to avoid paying more claims, all while claiming the industry was in trouble. . . . The $169 billion profit amounted to a 90% increase from the previous year and a 333% increase from 2022.”

Also, last year, the Insurance Journal reported that, “[t]he nonstandard auto insurance market in 2025 certainly looks to be maintaining the momentum it gained last year . . . . U.S. private passenger nonstandard auto insurers turned in underwriting profit of $65.2 for the first half of 2025, compared with $16.6 million during the same period a year ago.” Nonstandard auto insurance covers high-risk drivers, like those who have been convicted of driving under the influence (DUI).

The insurance companies have two primary ways to increase their profits: increase their premiums and pay less to accident victims and their families. While premiums have been rising in recent years, insurance companies have also been finding new ways to fight accident victims’ and their families’ claims.

2. An Insurance Adjuster’s Job is to Protect the Insurance Company

When you talk to an insurance adjuster after a serious accident, it might seem like the adjuster is on your side. But the reality is that this is not the case. Why? Simply put, the insurance adjuster’s job is to protect the insurance company.

Insurance adjusters are trained to gather information that their employers can use to dispute and deny liability claims. While “your” insurance adjuster is your liaison with the insurance company, the adjuster’s allegiance is to the insurance company, not to you. His or her job depends on it. This is critical to keep in mind if you try to deal with the insurance companies yourself—no matter what the adjuster says, you need to always be thinking about how what you say or do might jeopardize your claim.

3. The Insurance Companies’ Practices Are Designed to Minimize Claim Values

From how they investigate to how they handle negotiations, insurance companies’ practices are designed to minimize accident victims’ claim values. For example:

• When insurance companies investigate accidents, they focus on finding evidence to deny liability.
• When insurance companies make initial settlement offers, they hope financially strained accident victims will accept less than they deserve.
• When insurance companies negotiate with accident victims, they focus only on facts (or alleged facts) that support their position.

Additionally, while the insurance companies are legally required to handle liability claims in good faith, bad-faith insurance practices are a very real issue. As a result, when you file an insurance claim, you cannot assume that you will be treated fairly. Instead, you need to go into the process with a clear understanding of the issues and risks involved, and ensure you make informed decisions with your long-term best interests in mind.

4. The Insurance Companies Don’t Know the Full Value of Your Claim

Another key fact to keep in mind is this: Unless you tell them, the insurance companies won’t know how much you deserve to recover. Without information from you, they have no way of knowing what constitutes just compensation for your present and future medical bills, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and other financial and non-financial losses.

With this in mind, when making settlement offers, the insurance companies will err on the side of offering less rather than more. They do this because:

• As discussed above, their goal is to pay as little as possible (and they have no problem taking advantage of accident victims who need money fast), and
• They know that unless you hire a lawyer, you won’t know the full extent of the damages you are entitled to recover.

The financial and non-financial costs of serious accident-related injuries can be substantial. In many cases, serious accidents can impact victims and their families for the rest of their lives. As a result, it is critical to make sure you are seeking the full compensation you deserve, and this makes it essential to talk to an experienced Columbus personal injury lawyer as early in the process as possible.

5. Once You Settle Your Claim, You Don’t Get a Second Chance

This brings us to our final point: Once you settle your personal injury claim, your claim is over. Even if you settled for less than you deserve, you won’t get a second chance to go back and ask for more.

This, combined with everything we’ve discussed above, makes it critical not to accept a settlement from the insurance companies until you know how much you are entitled to recover. If you don’t know how much you deserve to recover for all of the long-term financial and non-financial costs of the accident, you won’t be able to make an informed decision about settlement, and the insurance companies will use this to take advantage of you.

Even if you aren’t necessarily concerned with collecting every last dollar you are entitled to recover, it is important to understand that accident victims’ losses are often far greater than they realize. Serious injuries can lead to substantial financial costs and impact your life in many other ways. The purpose of the claims process is to help ensure that the consequences accident victims face are no greater than necessary. If you don’t collect the full compensation you deserve, you could unnecessarily face the consequences of someone else’s mistake for years—if not decades—to come.

Who Can You Trust?

If you can’t trust the insurance companies to help you after a serious accident, who can you trust?

If you have a personal injury claim in Ohio, it is important to have an experienced Columbus personal injury lawyer on your side. Your lawyer will put your interests first, and your lawyer will be focused exclusively on helping you recover just compensation as quickly as possible. When you hire an experienced personal injury lawyer to represent you, your lawyer will:

• Conduct a comprehensive investigation focused on gathering the evidence needed to prove liability;
• File your claim and deal with the insurance companies directly on your behalf;
• Work with you and your doctors to understand the long-term impacts of your injuries;
• Negotiate for a fair settlement while protecting your ability to go to court if necessary; and,
• Help you make an informed decision about when (and if) to settle your claim.

Your lawyer will provide all of these services at no out-of-pocket cost to you. With this in mind, if you were seriously injured in an accident, you have no reason not to hire a lawyer who can help you fight for the full compensation you deserve. To help maximize your chances of holding the insurance companies fully accountable, you should schedule a free consultation as soon as possible.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Columbus Personal Injury Lawyer Today

Were you seriously injured in an accident in Ohio? If so, we can help you, and we invite you to contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation about your legal rights. To speak with an experienced Columbus personal injury lawyer about your claim as soon as possible, call us at 888-444-7440 or tell us how we can reach you online now.