Few things have the potential to become more frustrating than an insurance claim after a car accident. After all, you may have mounting medical bills you must pay despite being out of work. If the insurance company does not process your claim quickly, you may be at risk of ruining your credit, losing your home or even going hungry.

Regrettably, insurers typically do not have their customers’ financial interests in mind when addressing accident claims. Even worse, an insurance provider may use stall tactics to try to lure you into settling your claim for substantially less than it is worth. Here are three common ones.

1. Making you climb a phone tree

In theory, you should be able to talk to an adjuster to understand the status of your claim. Getting someone on the phone, though, is not usually an easy task. If your insurer makes you navigate a neverending phone tree, the company’s goal may be to discourage you to the point of hanging up.

2. Refusing to give you information

Even if you manage to get a real person on the phone, adjusters often refuse to disclose information about claims. They also may not give you the forms you need to complete, causing your claim to linger in insurance purgatory.

3. Allowing important deadlines to pass

You may believe an insurance company is on your side, but that is probably not the case. In fact, adjusters often allow important processing deadlines to pass, giving the company cover to deny claims. Consequently, you should not expect an insurer either to notify you of deadlines or to help you meet them.

Most insurance companies have teams of lawyers to protect their legal and financial interests. Ultimately, because you simply may not have the skills necessary to beat the insurer at its own game, you may want to look for someone who does.