If you’ve been injured in a car accident with a driver insured by GEICO, you may have questions about the company and its claims process.
Here is everything you need to know about filing a claim with GEICO and how our experienced personal injury attorneys can help.
About GEICO
While you may be familiar with GEICO’s famous commercials, its company history may surprise you.
GEICO, which stands for Government Employees Insurance Company, was established in 1936 primarily for military service members and federal employees.
In 1974, GEICO extended its insurance policy offers to the general public and is now one of the largest insurers in the country. While GEICO initially offered only property and life insurance, it now focuses on auto insurance.
What Is the Average GEICO Car Accident Settlement?
Since many settlements made with insurance companies like GEICO are confidential, it’s nearly impossible to determine the average settlement.
Even if you calculate an average from publicly available data, it would not accurately reflect most settlements with the company.
In addition, there are a variety of factors that affect the value of each settlement.
For example, the average GEICO car accident settlements for crashes involving broken bones may be drastically different from those involving paralysis or traumatic brain injuries.
Generally, the only way to know the true value of your claim is to have an experienced personal injury lawyer review your case.
Should I Contact the GEICO Claims Department After an Accident?
You should file your claim with GEICO as soon as possible after the accident. However, there are a few things you need to be careful of when pursuing your claim.
First, make sure you do not provide any statements to GEICO’s insurance adjuster. The goal of the adjuster is to find any reason to minimize or deny your claim, so they may use anything you say against you.
They may tell you that they need a recorded statement to proceed with the claims process. If this happens, politely decline and contact one of our GEICO car accident attorneys.
Second, don’t agree to early settlement offers. Insurers commonly make the claims process a hassle, hoping that you accept a low offer out of desperation to pay bills.
While the offer may seem good at first, it may not be enough to cover future medical treatment costs or other expenses related to the accident.
Finally, don’t attempt to negotiate your settlement amount without an attorney. Companies like GEICO have entire legal teams to intimidate claimants into accepting a low offer.
An experienced car accident lawyer knows the tactics used by GEICO to deny a claim and will gather the evidence needed to make a persuasive case.
Contact an Experienced Car Accident Lawyer
How Long Does It Take for GEICO to Settle a Claim?
The amount of time it takes for GEICO to settle a claim depends on the circumstances of the case. Generally, insurance companies make their first settlement offer within just a few weeks after receiving the claim.
However, these initial offers usually undervalue the claim. For cases involving a lawsuit, it may take months or even a couple of years to get a fair settlement.
In addition, if GEICO refuses to settle, the company may try to fight you in court. At that point, it’s up to the jury assigned to the case.
How Long Does It Take GEICO to Send a Settlement Check?
After agreeing to settle, GEICO should send the check within 2 to 7 days after signing the settlement release. However, adjusters often do not send the settlement check promptly.
If you have a lawyer handling your case, GEICO typically sends the check to them. They then use the check to pay any outstanding medical bills or attorney fees.
Once your lawyer addresses these payments, you’ll receive the remaining amount.
Do GEICO Car Accident Settlement Calculators Give an Accurate Estimate?
In a word, No. Online calculators don’t give an accurate estimate for GEICO car accident settlements. There are many factors that affect a GEICO personal injury settlement that calculators ignore, including:
- The severity of your injuries,
- Future medical treatment costs, and
- Pain and suffering.
While most calculators focus on economic damages (such as repairing your car) associated with your claim, they often ignore the intangible aspects of your injury.
What if you can’t participate in one of your usual hobbies because of your injuries? What about your pain, suffering, and emotional distress? Do your injuries require lifelong care?
Lawyers use various methods to calculate the value of intangible or noneconomic damages.
The most common is the per diem method (assigning a value to each day the person is incapacitated) and the multiplier method (multiplying economic damages by a number between 1 and 5, depending on the severity of the damages).
Some of the damages are incalculable and subjective. And many personal injury cases include non-economic losses like this. For this reason, a GEICO settlement calculator can’t accurately assess the value of most claims.
The Benefits of Working with One of Our Lawyers
While it’s not necessary to hire a lawyer for your car accident claim for every case, it’s absolutely essential for cases involving serious injuries.
At Gerling Law, our personal injury attorneys help clients navigate all the major steps in a claim, including:
- Identifying the party responsible for your injuries,
- Gathering the necessary evidence for your claim,
- Collecting medical documentation of your injuries,
- Finding and interviewing accident witnesses, and
- Negotiating with GEICO and other insurance companies.
When you get into an accident, handling these aspects of your claim may be overwhelming and intimidating. Our goal is to fight for the compensation you need, so you can focus on recovery.
If you or a loved one sustained an injury in a car accident, call Gerling Law today or contact us online for a free consultation. We proudly serve clients living throughout the states of Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.
Go with Experience. Go with Gerling. ®
