The Hartford Auto Accident Insurance Settlements

The Hartford is a well-known insurance company who provides auto accident insurance.

As an insurance company, the primary goal of The Hartford is to make a profit. This means that it is in their best interest to undervalue claims.

If your accident was caused by someone else’s negligence, that person’s insurance company is obligated under California law to pay for your injuries up to policy limits. However, the only way you can enforce this law is by filing a lawsuit against The Hartford should they offer you a low ball settlement offer and refuse to increase their offer. The Hartford knows you can’t win such a lawsuit if you don’t have a lawyer, so if you don’t have an attorney, they will never offer you anything but low ball offers.

Hiring a lawyer lets an insurance company like The Hartford know that you mean business. The vast majority of our cases settle out of court because insurers know they’re financially better off paying you what you’re entitled to out of court than going against us in court, where they’ll lose, have to pay you what you’re entitled to, and have to pay expensive legal fees.

Call us today for a free consultation if you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an accident and needs to recover financial compensation from The Hartford. We can force The Hartford to pay you what you are entitled to under California law. Studies show that injury victims who hire lawyers recover far more from insurance companies than those who don’t, even after attorney fees are taken into account. We won’t charge you any fee until and unless we recover compensation for you, so call us today.

Does The Hartford Pay Fair Settlements?

The Hartford, like other insurers, is likely to undervalue claims.

Common tactics The Hartford will use to undervalue or deny your claim include:

Unnecessarily delaying your claim: The company might drag out your claim process intentionally by taking too long to respond, stalling investigations or requesting too much documentation.
Intentionally misrepresenting the terms of your policy: The company might misrepresent a policy’s terms or how much coverage is available.
Utilizing delay tactics: These may include transferring you to an incorrect department, dropping calls, only allowing you to speak to recordings and making you stay on hold for a long time.
Presenting low ball offers: The Hartford will often start with a very small settlement offer. They will hope to pressure you into taking less than the value of your claim. They’ll often send a low ball offer very quickly after your accident to cheaply and quickly close your case.
Denying liability: Liability might be denied for the accident, even when it is seemingly clear, or they might even blame you for the accident when it wasn’t your fault.
Disputing medical treatment or bills: They could dispute the cost or necessity of medical treatment.
Discrediting evidence: They could challenge the relevance or validity of evidence or supporting documentation you provide.
Exploiting loopholes: They could attempt to find loopholes in a policy to deny you coverage.
Claiming damage is pre-existing: They could argue that damage which you’re claiming existed before the accident.
Blaming your injuries on pre-existing conditions: They could argue your injuries are due to pre-existing conditions instead of your accident.
Using your statements against you: They will likely pressure you into giving them a recorded statement. Don’t do it. Let a lawyer give them a statement for you instead. Insurance adjusters are trained to manipulate injury victims into saying the wrong thing so they can pay them less money or no money at all.
Asking for too much documentation: They could request too much documentation or information which isn’t necessary, nor relevant to your claim, making filing your claim more time-consuming and difficult.
Pressure and intimidation: They could utilize intimidation tactics and they could pressure you into accepting a smaller settlement.
Misrepresenting the law: The company might misrepresent the law to deny or undervalue your claim.

Numerous lawsuits have been filed regarding The Hartford underpaying or denying claims:

The Hartford agreed to pay $72.5 million in a 2010 settlement regarding a class action lawsuit. Plaintiffs had alleged the company committed fraud regarding settlement practices which were related to settlements that were structured. The lawsuit alleged that the company provided structured settlements which were 15 percent smaller than the promised value or cost, retaining the 15 percent fraudulently for themselves.
2019 saw a court ordering Hartford to pay court fees and benefits after it was ruled they wrongly denied disability benefits.
A class action lawsuit was filed in 2024 which alleged that the company undervalues fully destroyed or totaled cars.
A federal lawsuit in 2016 alleged the company wrongfully refused to pay disability benefits.
The company has been sued under the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act for wrongfully denying disability benefits.

Call us today for a free consultation so we can prevent The Hartford from successfully using any tactics to undervalue or deny your claim.

The Hartford Average Accident Settlement Payouts

There is no average settlement amount for settlement payouts from The Hartford. This is because every injury case is unique, with unique circumstances.

The value of your claim will depend upon the amount of coverage which is available as well as the damages you have suffered – damages which we can help you recover compensation for include:

Medical Bills

This means all past and future medical expenses related to your injuries, so if you’re already facing medical bills or will need treatments in the future, we can help you get compensation for them.

Lost Wages

This means wages you’re unable to earn due to being injured too severely to work or needing to take time off from work for medical treatments.

Loss of Earning Capacity

This means any loss or reduction of your earning capacity caused by disability relating to your accident.

Property Damage

This means the cost to repair or replace your vehicle should your injuries have been caused in an auto accident.

Pain and Suffering

This means the physical pain and mental suffering you have endured and will endure due to your injuries.

Wrongful Death

If you lost a loved one in an accident, we can help you recover compensation from The Hartford which will help make sure your family doesn’t need to go through financial hardship due to the loss of your loved one. This compensation can cover things like funeral and burial costs as well as the loss of your loved one’s income, love and companionship.

How The Hartford Determines Auto Accident Settlement Offers

The Hartford utilizes Colossus, a computer program, to determine the value of your injury claim. Info found in your medical records is inputted to the program with additional variables provided by adjusters. The program then outputs mathematically calculated settlement amounts.

The program is designed to provide below-market offers to injury victims.

The program is said to use in excess of 10,000 rules in order to generate questions which are injury-related for insurance adjusters.

The program works by adjusters inputting data from your medical records. “Severity points” are assigned to your injuries. The program has over 600 injury codes. Severity points multiply how much money is offered by the software.

Medical record findings which can increase settlement amounts include:

Dizziness
Muscle spasms
Headaches
Radiating pain
Movement restriction
Vision impairment
Nausea
Anxiety
Depression
Neurosis

Insurance companies call these “value drivers.” The software also considers if you got hospitalized, your length and type of medical treatment, any physical therapy or medication administered, and your impairment’s severity.

The software also reportedly accounts for injury venue, attorney history, and how willing your attorney is to take your claim to court. The software may return a settlement offer which is undervalued if it thinks you’re not represented by a lawyer who is willing to take your case to court. Because of this, it is vital to hire an injury lawyer with experience who is willing to take your claim to court.

The Hartford Car Accident Settlement Examples

Examples of The Hartford car accident settlements reported on the internet include:

$300,000: This case involved a vehicle being struck as it approached an intersection. A girl ended up suffering a fractured pelvis, jaw and arm. Each driver claimed their light was green.¹
$125,000: This case involved a vehicle striking three other vehicles while failing to keep inside its own lane and speeding. A woman ended up with a head injury, increased blood pressure, left forearm bruising, left leg pain, left knee pain and bulging cervical discs.¹
$45,000: This case involved a boy who was a passenger in a vehicle that got rear-ended. The boy claimed $10,222 worth of medical bills.¹

How to Maximize a Settlement from The Hartford

To maximize your settlement with The Hartford:

Immediately seek medical treatment: Seek treatment immediately and diligently follow any recommendations from doctors. Delaying medical care can lead to your claim being weakened.
Document everything: Make sure that you keep detailed records of accident-related expenses like lost wages, property damage and medical bills.
Report your accident promptly: File a claim with insurance as fast as you can. It may be best to have a lawyer do this for you.
Gather evidence: Collect evidence such as witness statements, accident scene photos and police reports.
Do not admit any fault: Do not make any statements which could be interpreted as admitting to fault for an accident.
Take care on social media: Do not share any personal information which is related to the accident on a social media platform.
Understand the process of filing a claim: Make sure that you are familiar with every step which is involved in filing a claim with The Hartford as well as any deadlines for submitting needed documentation. A lawyer can help you understand the process and handle the entire process for you.
Be ready to perform negotiations: Do not accept The Hartford’s first offer – it will likely be much smaller than what you deserve. An attorney can negotiate with The Hartford for you.
Consider future damages: When calculating the claim you have, ensure you factor in possible wages lost in the future as well as future medical bills which are injury-related.
Consult with an attorney: An experienced injury attorney like the attorneys at our firm can help you through the whole claims process, negotiate for a bigger settlement, and represent your legal interests effectively.

How Long Does It Take for The Hartford to Pay a Claim?

You can typically expect to receive a check from The Hartford within a few weeks of your settlement. Insurance companies typically have 30 days to issue checks.

The amount of time it will take for your claim to settle will depend upon your case’s complexity.

Why Would The Hartford Deny a Claim?

The insurance company The Hartford may deny a claim like an accident claim or disability claim for numerous reasons, including:

Failure to meet the criteria of the policy: A claim might be denied should your situation or condition not meet disability’s specific definition which is outlined in the policy.
Not enough medical evidence: You can expect your request to have a claim paid be denied should the documentation and medical records you provide fail to adequately prove the nature or severity of your condition.
Incomplete paperwork or missed deadlines: Claimants may see their claims denied if they fail to submit all needed documents or miss deadlines.
Limitations regarding pre-existing conditions: You may fail to qualify for a claim approval if your policy includes an exclusion or waiting period for a pre-existing condition.
Policy exclusions: Certain situations or conditions might get excluded from your policy’s coverage, especially if you elected for savings via a less expensive policy.
Administrative errors: A denial may result from internal errors or mistakes in the process of filing a claim by The Hartford.
Social media investigations and surveillance: The Hartford could hire investigators to look at your social media accounts or monitor you, and this may lead to a denial should they discover evidence which contradicts the claim you filed.
Independent medical examinations: The company might hire medical experts to give you an evaluation. Those experts’ findings may lead to denials when they contradict the findings of your doctors.
Failing to disclose pre-existing conditions: Your claim may be denied if you don’t disclose your pre-existing conditions while filing a claim.
Elective procedures: The company might deny covering elective procedures which aren’t medically necessary.

Call us today for a free consultation if you feel that you have had a claim wrongfully denied by The Hartford. We can review your policy and let you know if your claim was wrongfully denied. If your claim was wrongfully denied, we can file a lawsuit on your behalf against The Hartford.

How Do I File an Accident Claim With Hartford?

In order to file a Hartford insurance claim, you can file a claim via their mobile app or online via their website, or you can call them at 800-243-5860.

To file a claim online, log into your account should you have one, and you can file your claim, track your claim’s status and check the status of payments. You may also report claims without logging in. Simple car accident claims can be reported online.

AARP customers can call 877-805-9918.

Those with glass claims can call 800-892-8484.

Those who have policies with labor and towing coverage can access RESCUE 1-800 by calling 800-322-7789 for emergency roadside assistance.

If you’ve been injured in an accident, though, The Hartford will likely present you with a low ball settlement offer, and likely won’t increase that offer if you don’t have a lawyer. Call an attorney at our firm today for a free consultation so we can handle your claim for you and make sure you receive all the compensation you deserve.

Injured in a Car Accident? Fill Out a Free Case Evaluation Today

Call us today for a free case evaluation, fill out this page’s free case evaluation form or text us from this page if you or a loved one was injured or killed in a car accident and needs to recover compensation from The Hartford.

We have been helping injury victims recover compensation from insurers like The Hartford since 1990 and have recovered over $750,000,000 for clients. Our vast experience will let us recover the most money possible from The Hartford.

Should you be unable to pay for medical treatment, our lawyers can get you to doctors who will not charge you for treatment until your case is over. This trust that doctors place in us is due to our reputation for success.

We won’t charge you any fee to handle your accident case until and unless we recover money for you – our only fee is a percentage of the money we recover for you. You won’t be charged an out-of-pocket or upfront fee.

Call us today for a free consultation.

References

1. Miller & Zois