It is common for insurers to deny liability. This is often accepted by people as something that they have no power to challenge. The fact is, however, that denial of liability is something that can be challenged in some circumstances. The first and most important thing to understand about insurance companies is that they are businesses. A denial of liability after a claim has been made is often used simply as a way of reducing the insurer’s costs. In this way, insurers often rely on the fact that the average person will not complain.
A very common example of when this happens is a motor vehicle accident. We at Gerard Malouf & Partners deal with a lot of motor vehicle accident claims. Some of them involve personal injury, while others only involve property damage. Typically, you might be driving down the street one day. You slow down to make a right turn. You wait briefly to see if another car is coming around the corner. You start to make a turn and suddenly another vehicle comes tearing around the bend, clearly breaking the speed limit. The other car slams on the breaks, swerves and collides with your car. Hopefully you are not injured and only your car is damaged, but you may have sustained injuries too.
You then get out of the car and you and the other driver take down each others details. Next you make a claim against the other driver’s insurer for the damage to your vehicle and also for any injuries that you sustained if you have any. You then receive a letter some weeks later from the insurer denying liability. For most people this is the end of the matter. Right? Wrong! As mentioned above, it is a common practice for insurers to deny liability in the first instance. In the scenario mentioned above they would probably say something to the effect that you didn’t give way when you made the turn. The reality is, however, that you don’t necessarily have to accept this denial.
If you feel that you were not at fault then come and see us at Gerard Malouf & Partners for a free consultation and let us see if we can help. We have well over 10 years experience fighting against big insurance companies and winning. We win because we care and will fight hard for you. One thing we know well is that big insurance companies respond very differently when you have people who know the law fighting for you. This is because we have the resources and the know-how to obtain the evidence needed to prove that you have a claim. Once we have obtained the necessary evidence, we can commence the case in the Local or District Court, depending on how much your claim is for. Ideally we attempt to settle the matter before it going to a hearing so that we can minimize your costs and maximize the amount of money you receive after costs.
So come and see us at Gerard Malouf & Partners and speak to one of our experienced solicitors about your claim and let us fight to get the best result for you.
