Trucking Companies That Are Self-Insured
It can be bad enough dealing with the harassing and sometimes intimidating tactics that insurance adjusters employ. Again, they will constantly call you and try to trick you into admitting you were completely responsible for the flatbed trailer accident, or to admit that you really aren’t hurt that badly. But dealing with a representative of a self-insured trucking company can be even worse if you don’t have a seasoned flatbed trailer accident attorney by your side protecting your rights.
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Trucking companies, by law, are required to carry insurance on their trucks. But rather than pay the often exorbitant rates necessary to carry insurance through a traditional provider, some trucking companies opt to insure themselves. They do so by putting aside a portion of their revenues to protect them from lawsuits when an accident takes place. Of course, this is perfectly legal.
What Does “Self-Insured” Actually Mean?
A self-insured trucking company has chosen to shoulder its own financial risk instead of paying premiums to an outside insurer. When one of its trucks causes a crash, there is no third-party insurance company writing the check—the money comes straight out of the company’s own reserves. That single fact changes the entire dynamic of a claim. The people you deal with no longer answer to an insurance carrier; they answer to the business whose profits your claim threatens, and that conflict of interest colors every conversation you have with them.
Why a Company Officer Is More Dangerous Than an Adjuster
If you are involved in an accident with a truck that is owned by a self-insured trucking company, you will probably encounter a company officer and not a professional insurance adjuster. That officer is probably part of his or her company’s profit-sharing plan. If the trucking company loses the case, then its profits are reduced. Therefore, that officer will be personally losing money if his or her company loses its case. So you can see the motivation that the officer will have to make sure your claim is denied, or that you win as little money as possible. Also, these officers are not licensed as are insurance adjusters, who have to adhere to a code of ethics in order to maintain that license. Self-insured trucking company officers, however, are under no such obligation. Therefore, while an adjuster can be aggressive, a self-insured trucking company officer can be downright harassing.
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Tactics You May Face
Because a self-insured officer operates without a license to protect and with profits on the line, the pressure can escalate well beyond the usual adjuster playbook. Some officers are not above tampering with evidence or threatening accident witnesses, and even injury victims. Watch for behavior such as:
- Repeated calls pressing you to admit fault or downplay your injuries.
- Requests for a recorded statement or a broad medical release before you have a lawyer.
- Fast, lowball settlement offers made before you understand the value of your claim.
- Attempts to influence, discourage, or intimidate witnesses to the crash.
- “Losing” or altering records that would help establish the company’s responsibility.
Protecting Evidence and Your Rights
When the party responsible for paying your claim also controls much of the evidence, acting quickly is essential. A truck crash leaves behind proof that can decide the case—electronic control module data, the driver’s hours-of-service logs, maintenance and inspection files, cargo loading records, and dash or surveillance video—and a self-insured company has every incentive to let that material disappear. An experienced truck accident attorney can send preservation letters that legally require the company to keep this evidence, independently document the scene, and protect witnesses from pressure so their accounts are not lost or changed.
You Can Still Hold the Company Liable
The absence of a traditional insurer does not limit your right to recover. A self-insured trucking company remains fully responsible for the negligence of its drivers and for its own failures in hiring, training, maintenance, and supervision. Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, an employer is liable for the on-the-job conduct of its employees, which means you can pursue a claim against both the driver and the company. The difference is simply that the company is paying from its own funds, which is exactly why it fights so hard—and why experienced representation matters so much.
Compensation You May Recover
A well-documented claim should account for the full range of your losses, including past and future medical expenses, lost wages and diminished earning capacity, property damage, and compensation for pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. When a crash takes a life, surviving family members may bring a wrongful death claim for losses such as lost future earnings, funeral expenses, and the loss of their loved one’s support and companionship. Where a company or driver acted with extreme disregard for safety, Texas law may allow additional damages meant to punish and deter that conduct.
How Our Texas Truck Accident Attorneys Help
The flatbed trailer accident attorneys with our Law Offices know how to put an abrupt end to those underhanded tactics, and we know how to protect our clients from the harassment of self-insured trucking company officers. We handle every communication so you are no longer a target for pressure, we move fast to preserve the evidence a self-insured company would rather see vanish, and we build cases strong enough to force a fair result—at the negotiating table or, when necessary, at trial.
Contact Us
If you or a family member has been injured in a crash with a self-insured trucking company in Texas, do not try to handle its officers alone. Call our Law Office for a free consultation. We will review the details of your case, explain the compensation you may be entitled to, and stand between you and the company’s tactics every step of the way.