How to Make the Insurance Company Accept Full Fault
After a car accident, getting the other driver’s insurance company to admit full fault can be more complicated than it seems. Insurance companies often resist accepting responsibility because doing so directly impacts how much they will have to pay. Even when the evidence seems clear, insurers may delay, dispute, or deny liability to protect their financial interests. To ensure your rights are protected and maximize your compensation, you need strong, documented evidence—and often the guidance of an experienced attorney.
Step 1: Collect Evidence
Insurance adjusters place significant weight on police reports, making them a critical part of your case. If an officer responded to the accident, request a copy and review it carefully. The narrative section often contains the officer’s observations and sometimes their opinion on who caused the accident. While this can help your claim, it is usually not sufficient on its own.
Additional evidence can significantly strengthen your position. This includes your own detailed account of the accident, statements from the other driver(s), and witness statements. Photographs or videos of the scene, vehicle damage, skid marks, traffic signals, and road conditions are also important. The more comprehensive your evidence, the more difficult it is for the insurance company to dispute fault.
Step 2: Hire an Attorney
Even with solid evidence, insurance companies may hesitate to admit full fault. This is where hiring an experienced car accident attorney becomes crucial. Attorneys have the knowledge, resources, and leverage to make insurers take your claim seriously.
A skilled lawyer can:
Properly document the accident and gather all necessary evidence
Hire accident reconstruction experts to show exactly how the crash occurred
Subpoena surveillance footage from nearby businesses or traffic cameras
Obtain statements from police officers or witnesses if needed
Insurance companies are much more likely to accept fault when they know a lawyer is prepared to file a lawsuit and prove liability in court. Without this leverage, you are essentially asking the insurer to voluntarily take responsibility, which they may resist or delay indefinitely.
Step 3: Filing a Lawsuit if Necessary
Sometimes, negotiation and evidence alone aren’t enough to convince the insurance company. Filing a lawsuit may be the most effective way to establish fault definitively. In court, your attorney can present all gathered evidence, call expert witnesses such as accident reconstructionists, and demonstrate the other driver’s liability as a matter of law.
A lawsuit also provides critical leverage. Insurance companies generally do not admit fault until they recognize the potential legal consequences, including a jury verdict. Having a lawyer ready to litigate puts pressure on the insurer to take your claim seriously and increases the likelihood of a fair resolution.
Step 4: Why Having an Attorney Speeds Up the Process
Without an attorney, proving full fault can take months or even years, with repeated disputes, delays, and lowball offers from the insurance company. Attorneys streamline the process by handling evidence collection, negotiations, and communications with insurers efficiently. They know how to present your case so that the insurance adjuster recognizes the risk of refusing responsibility, often resulting in a faster and fairer settlement.
