Legal Question in Insurance Law in Texas

Re: Auto Accident Claim

Yes, you can dispute it. Yes, it's common for insurance companies to try to pay you as little as possible on a claim. Their job isn't to pay claims, it's to collect premiums. I would strongly recommend your speaking with an attorney about your case. Most attorneys do not charge for an initial consult, and most only get paid a percentage of what they collect for you (myself included.) My advice is for you to check with a few lawyers, see who you like best, and have them prosecute the case for you.

Re: Auto Accident Claim

No, you definitely should not let the insurance company cheat you! In my experience, insurance carriers are more and more often placing 10% to 40% "comparative negligence" on drivers who did absolutely nothing wrong. Why are they doing this? Because they can. When you have no attorney representing you, the insurance company can take advantage of you any way they wish. The effect of placing comparative negligence on you is that the insurance company is then allowed to deduct from your settlement (on both repairs to your car and your injury settlement) that percentage. (If they place 15% comparative on you, they will only pay you 85% of your car repairs, medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc. It's a huge scam!)

The only way to guard against being cheated by the insurance company is to hire a competent personal injury lawyer to represent you. Most good attorneys can get you far more than you could get for yourself, even after deducting their fee. And there is no risk to you; if the attorney does not collect for you, he does not get paid.

As long as the insurance companies see a way to steal from accident victims (and, without a lawyer you are a sitting duck), they will do it. Be smart: retain a lawyer. It's the only way to be on an equal footing with these giant insurance companies.