Memo to adjusters: How not to act

In my last post I discussed the recent Superior Court decision in Sterlin v. Commerce Insurance Company. That case is a primer of how an insurer can get slapped with 93A damages.

An adjuster should not find that liability is unclear by:

1. ignoring the transcript of a 911 call in which the insured driver stated that he fell asleep at the wheel and hit the other car;

2. ignoring the statement made to the insurer by the father of the driver that the driver fell asleep at the wheel;

3. relying on photographs of a vehicle taken after the vehicle has been repaired as proof that there was no contact between the two cars; and

4. relying on the driver's statement that he did not cause the accident, made when he is facing criminal charges for operating to endanger and based on leading questions by the adjuster.