How Insurance Companies Use Delay Tactics to Weaken Your Case
After a car accident, most victims expect insurance companies to act in good faith. You file a claim, submit documentation, and expect fair compensation—especially if the accident wasn’t your fault. But many quickly discover that the system isn’t designed for fairness. It’s designed to protect profits. Insurance companies are businesses. And their business model depends on paying out as little as possible—or stalling long enough that you accept less. At AK Injury Law Firm, we’ve seen these tactics play out for years. Our founder, Dr. Azadeh Keshavarz, spent years as a doctor of chiropractic, treating injured accident victims. After witnessing how insurers delay and devalue real people’s pain, she became a personal injury attorney with a mission: to outthink, outfight, and outwin the very system that hurts the injured twice. This will expose the most common delay tactics insurance companies use—and how strategic legal action can beat them. The Strategy Behind Delays Delays aren’t random. They’re calculated. Insurance adjusters are trained to wear you down. The longer they delay your claim, the more desperate you become. Bills pile up. You’re missing work. You’re in pain. And eventually, they hope you’ll do exactly what they want: Accept a lowball offer Give up and stop pursuing your claim Miss legal deadlines and lose your right to sue They know time is on their side—unless you have a legal team that plays offense. Common Delay Tactics Used by Insurance Companies Let’s break down the most frequently used tactics insurers deploy to weaken your car accident case. 1. Asking for “More Documentation” Repeatedly You provide your medical records. Then they ask for itemized bills. Then a treatment summary. Then imaging reports. Then wage verification. Then more records. And just when you think they have everything, they say they need updated documents because it’s been too long. This isn’t about being thorough. It’s about stalling. AK Strategy: We know exactly what documentation matters—and what’s just a delay ploy. We proactively gather and present complete, irrefutable files so insurers have no excuse to stall. 2. Claiming Your File Is “Under Review” A favorite stalling phrase is: “We’re still reviewing the details of your claim.” It sounds reasonable—until you realize they’ve had your paperwork for weeks or even months. In many cases, there’s no real “review” happening. They’re waiting to see if you’ll follow up—or go away. Our advantage: We don’t wait. We set deadlines. We document every interaction. And we escalate the moment an adjuster drags their feet. 3. Switching Adjusters Mid-Claim This one’s sly. You’ll be working with one claims adjuster for weeks, maybe even months—then suddenly, you’re told your case has been “reassigned.” Now you have to start over. The new adjuster hasn’t reviewed your file. They need time. And the process resets—just like they planned. Our move: We treat every adjuster switch as a red flag and push back hard. We don’t let them reset the clock without consequences. 4. Delaying Medical Evaluations or Independent Exams Insurance companies often request independent medical examinations (IMEs) to validate your injuries. But they may schedule these weeks—or months—after your request for treatment, claiming they need it before making an offer. In reality, it’s just another stall tactic. And worse, they’ll sometimes use hand-picked doctors with a history of minimizing injuries. What we do: We challenge biased medical reports with stronger, evidence-backed evaluations and expert testimony. We know how to expose and discredit slanted findings. 5. Questioning Treatment Necessity to Avoid Payment One of their nastiest tricks is pretending your treatment was: “Excessive” “Unnecessary” “Unrelated” to the accident By questioning your care, they delay payment—then try to use the delay against you, claiming you waited too long to treat or that you “must not have been that hurt.” AK Defense: Dr. Keshavarz’s background in chiropractic care gives us an edge. She knows when treatment is appropriate and uses her medical experience to support our clients’ care decisions. 6. Making a Lowball Offer, Then Disappearing Many insurers will make an insultingly low offer—just enough to tempt you, but nowhere near what your case is worth. If you decline, they go silent. No calls. No emails. No updates. The hope? That you’ll panic and eventually accept the original lowball offer just to move forward. How we counter: We set firm deadlines for response. If they miss them, we file suit. Silence doesn’t work on us—we don’t chase, we challenge. 7. Dragging You Past the Statute of Limitations In California, you typically have two years from the date of a car accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you miss that window, you lose your right to recover anything. Some insurers deliberately stretch the process—dragging out conversations and avoiding action—hoping you’ll miss that deadline. Our method: We monitor every case timeline with precision. If an insurer even tries to run out the clock, we beat them to the punch by filing suit and freezing the deadline. Why These Tactics Work—Unless You’re Prepared Delay tactics are powerful because most accident victims don’t know how the system works. They assume the insurer is “working on it,” when in reality, they’re being led in circles. Here’s what delay does: Weakens your financial position, making you more likely to settle for less Creates gaps in treatment, which the insurer will use to claim you weren’t really injured Frustrates and exhausts you, wearing down your will to fight You don’t need a lawyer who just plays defense. You need a lawyer who fights back strategically—cutting through red tape and forcing the insurer to take your case seriously. How AK Injury Law Firm Outthinks Delay Tactics At AK Injury Law Firm, we don’t wait for insurance companies to play games. We prepare each case like it’s going to trial. That sends a message to insurers: We’re not here to negotiate out of desperation. We’re here to win. Here’s how we disrupt the delay playbook: Early and aggressive evidence gathering Smart medical documentation, reviewed by professionals Tight communication logs with adjusters to hold them accountable