Common Insurance Company Tactics in Wrongful Death Claims

After losing a loved one because of another person’s negligence, a family may suddenly find itself dealing with insurance companies, claims adjusters, defense lawyers, and requests for information. Those interactions can be difficult under ordinary circumstances. When a family is grieving, the process can feel overwhelming.

Insurance companies have a financial interest in resolving claims for as little as reasonably possible. That does not mean every claims adjuster will act improperly, and not every settlement offer or request for information is evidence of bad faith. But families should understand common claims-handling tactics and recognize how statements, records, and other information provided to an insurer can become part of the defense of the claim.

At Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP, we represent California families pursuing wrongful death claims and understand the importance of protecting a family’s interests while the insurance company investigates. Our attorneys can handle communications with insurers, investigate the circumstances of the death, and work to develop the evidence necessary to pursue full and fair compensation.

Why Do Insurance Companies Contact Families So Soon After a Death?

An insurance company may begin investigating a fatal accident quickly. The insurer may contact surviving family members, witnesses, vehicle owners, employers, or other people who may have information about what happened.

From the insurer’s perspective, early investigation can help establish the facts and close the claim quickly. For a grieving family, however, an early call can come before the family has had time to understand what happened or consider its legal options.

A family member may feel obligated to cooperate immediately because the person calling represents an insurance company connected to the accident. But that is no reason to assume that the insurer’s interests and the family’s interests are the same.

A wrongful death investigation should be approached carefully, particularly when liability or the extent of the family’s losses remains disputed.

Why Does the Insurance Adjuster Ask for a Recorded Statement?

One common tactic is asking a family member to provide a recorded statement about the accident and the circumstances surrounding the death.

An adjuster may describe the request as routine. The questions may initially appear straightforward: What do you know about the accident? What did your loved one tell you? What happened before the collision? What injuries did your loved one suffer?

The problem is that a grieving family member may not know the complete facts. Their knowledge of the situation can be incomplete; information may have come from multiple sources; and the family may not yet have access to police reports, medical records, photographs, surveillance footage, or expert analysis.

A statement made early in the process can later be reviewed by the insurer’s attorneys. Any uncertainty or imprecise statement may be characterized as inconsistent or untruthful if it conflicts with evidence developed later.

A Recorded Statement Can Be Taken Out of Context

A family member may say something that is accurate based on what he or she understood at the time, but the statement may have a very different appearance when isolated from the surrounding conversation.

For example, someone may say that a loved one “seemed fine” earlier in the day without knowing that the person was suffering or developed symptoms soon afterwards. Or a family member may say that the deceased was “always in a hurry” without intending to suggest that the person was driving negligently at the time of the accident.

These statements may later be cited selectively to support an argument about fault, causation, or the severity of the losses.

This does not mean families should automatically refuse every request for information. It means they should understand that communications with an insurer can have legal consequences and should be handled thoughtfully.

The Insurance Company May Dispute Who Was Responsible for the Death

Even when a family believes the circumstances are clear, an insurer may dispute liability.

A driver involved in a fatal crash may claim that another motorist caused the collision. A trucking company may argue that its driver was not at fault. A property owner may dispute whether a dangerous condition caused a fatal fall. A business or manufacturer may challenge whether a defective product caused the death.

The insurance company’s investigation may focus on alternative explanations for what happened. It may examine accident reports, photographs, witness statements, medical records, video, vehicle data, employment records, or other evidence.

When multiple people or entities may have contributed to a death, the dispute can become particularly complicated. The insurer for one defendant may attempt to place responsibility on another party rather than accept that its insured bears primary responsibility.

An Insurance Company Might Minimize the Value of a Wrongful Death Claim

Wrongful death damages can involve much more than funeral expenses. California law permits recovery for certain economic and non-economic losses suffered by qualifying surviving family members, including financial support the decedent would have provided and the loss of the decedent’s love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support. California Code of Civil Procedure sections 377.60 and 377.61 govern wrongful death claims and damages.

Determining the value of those losses can require extensive evidence. The decedent’s age, health, income, employment history, expected career, contributions to the household, and relationship with surviving family members may all become relevant.

An insurer may nevertheless present a much narrower picture of the claim, emphasizing easily documented expenses while questioning less tangible losses. A careful wrongful death case requires an evaluation of the complete impact of the death rather than accepting the insurer’s initial valuation.

Why Must Early Settlement Offers Be Considered So Carefully?

An insurance company may make a settlement offer relatively early in the claims process. To a family facing funeral expenses, lost household income, and uncertainty about the future, receiving money quickly can appear attractive.

But an early offer may be made before the family fully understands the value of its claim. Important evidence may not yet have been collected. The circumstances of the accident may still be disputed. The family’s financial losses may not have been fully calculated. Future losses may require economic analysis.

Once a wrongful death claim is settled and a release is signed, the family generally cannot simply return later and demand additional compensation because the claim turned out to be worth more than initially believed.

An early offer is not necessarily improper. The issue is whether the family has enough information to make an informed decision about whether the proposed settlement fairly compensates them for the losses covered by the claim.

Can Insurance Companies Use Grief and Financial Pressure to Encourage a Quick Settlement?

Grief can make it difficult to focus on financial and legal decisions. Families may also experience immediate expenses while losing the income, services, or other contributions provided by the deceased.

That combination can create substantial pressure to accept whatever money is offered first.

The California Department of Insurance regulates certain claims-handling practices and identifies unreasonable settlement offers and inadequate investigation among conduct that can violate applicable claims-settlement requirements. The Department has also taken enforcement action involving allegations of inadequate investigations, unreasonable settlement offers, delays, and other claims-handling violations.

Not every low settlement offer is unlawful, and the rules governing claims handling can depend on the type of insurance and claim involved. But families should not assume that an insurer’s first valuation accurately reflects the full value of a wrongful death case.

Can an Insurance Company Dispute the Family’s Losses?

A wrongful death insurer may also challenge the amount of damages claimed by surviving family members.

For example, an insurer might argue that the deceased’s income would have been lower than the family contends, that the person would not have continued working as long as projected, or that the family did not depend financially on the deceased to the extent claimed.

Non-economic losses may also be disputed. An insurer may question the nature or extent of the relationship between the deceased and surviving family members.

These arguments can be especially painful because they require family members to discuss deeply personal aspects of their relationships after a death. But those issues can become relevant to establishing the damages permitted under California wrongful death law.

What If the Insurance Company Blames the Person Who Died?

Another defense may be an attempt to argue that the deceased was partly responsible for the accident.

California follows comparative fault principles, and the deceased person’s alleged negligence can become an issue in a wrongful death case depending on the circumstances. An insurer may look for evidence concerning speed, distraction, impairment, traffic violations, or other conduct that it believes contributed to the accident.

Such allegations should not simply be accepted because an insurance adjuster raises them. The evidence should be independently examined to determine what actually happened and whether the deceased’s conduct legally contributed to the death.

This is another reason an independent investigation can be critical.

Why Does the Insurance Company Focus on Technical Disputes?

Insurance companies and their attorneys may raise questions concerning causation, the sequence of events, the relationship between an injury and the death, the applicable insurance coverage, or other legal and factual issues.

These disputes can make an emotionally difficult claim even more complicated. A family may know that a loved one died after a particular event but may not have the medical, accident reconstruction, engineering, or other expertise necessary to establish precisely how the event caused the death.

Experts may be necessary depending on the case. A medical expert might evaluate causation. An accident reconstruction professional could analyze a collision. An engineer might examine a structural failure. An economist could calculate the family’s financial losses.

A strong wrongful death case is often built by combining these different forms of evidence rather than relying solely on the family’s account of what happened.

What Should You Be Careful About Saying to an Insurance Adjuster?

A family member speaking with an insurer should be truthful, but that does not mean the person must speculate or provide information he or she does not know.

Questions about the accident can invite guesses about speed, timing, distance, visibility, or other details that the family member did not personally observe. Questions about damages can similarly lead someone to estimate financial losses before all of the relevant information has been collected.

The safest approach is to distinguish between what you personally know, what you were told, and what you do not know. A family should also understand that anything provided to the insurer may later be reviewed as part of the claim.

Once an attorney is representing the family, communications concerning the claim can be directed through counsel, allowing the attorney to help manage requests for information and protect the family’s interests.

Why Is It Important to Investigate a Wrongful Death Before Accepting a Settlement?

The insurer’s investigation is conducted for the insurer. The family needs an independent investigation that is designed to determine the truth and preserve evidence supporting the claim.

Depending on how the person died, that investigation may involve:

• Obtaining and analyzing police reports, medical records, photographs, video, and other evidence
• Identifying and interviewing witnesses
• Inspecting vehicles, property, products, or other physical evidence
• Reviewing electronic or business records
• Retaining appropriate medical, engineering, accident reconstruction, or economic experts
• Determining every potentially responsible party and available insurance coverage

A thorough investigation can uncover evidence that changes the understanding of what happened or the value of the resulting claim.

What Should Families Do When an Insurance Company Makes an Early Offer?

Families should resist treating an early settlement offer as a deadline for deciding what the case is worth. Before accepting an offer, it is important to understand the legal claims being released, the damages that may be available, the evidence concerning liability, and the family’s future financial losses.

A settlement may be appropriate in some circumstances. The important point is that the decision should be based on an informed evaluation rather than grief, pressure, or the assumption that the insurer’s initial offer represents the maximum available compensation.

The California Department of Insurance provides information concerning insurance claims practices and consumer assistance, while the specific legal rights and obligations involved in a wrongful death claim depend on the circumstances of the case.

How Can Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP Help Families Dealing With an Insurance Company?

After a wrongful death, families should not have to spend their time trying to decipher insurance company tactics while they are grieving. At Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP, we can take over communications with insurers, investigate the circumstances surrounding the death, and build the evidence needed to pursue a wrongful death claim.

We know that insurers may challenge both liability and the extent of a family’s losses. Our attorneys work to identify the facts, consult appropriate experts when necessary, and develop a complete picture of the economic and personal consequences of the death.

We also understand that a wrongful death case is about much more than a settlement figure. It is about seeking accountability for what happened and obtaining the compensation California law permits for the losses suffered by surviving family members. We approach these cases with compassion for the families we represent and with the diligence and determination necessary to protect their interests.

Contact Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP About a Wrongful Death Claim in California

An insurance company’s first offer is not necessarily a fair measure of the value of a wrongful death claim. Recorded statements, disputed facts, challenges to damages, and pressure to settle quickly can all affect how a family approaches a claim after losing someone they love.

Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP represents California families pursuing wrongful death claims. Contact our firm to discuss what happened, understand your legal options, and learn how we can investigate the circumstances of your loved one’s death and pursue justice and compensation on your family’s behalf.