A common insurance tactic early on in an injury case is to make you an unreasonably low settlement offer. Insurance companies know that if they do this to as many injury victims as they possibly can, some injury victims will accept the low settlement offer, saving the insurance company boatloads of money each year. Don’t sell yourself short. Follow these four tips to help you get a fair and reasonable settlement offer. If you are looking for a reputable Louisville personal injury attorney then you should consider claiming your free consultation today.
Tip 1: Remain Calm and Polite
First tip: remain calm and polite when communicating with the insurance company. Insurance companies want to see if you get rattled. They are testing you. If you’re someone who gets rattled, angry, or impolite after a low settlement offer, the insurance company will take note of that. It will give the impression to the insurance company that maybe you’re someone that a jury of strangers would find is not very likable if the case went to a jury trial later down the road in your case. Insurance companies know that if a jury finds an injured plaintiff not very likable, it’s likely that the jury will award them less money. Thus, always remain calm and polite with the insurance adjuster, even if they’re making you a low offer.
Tip 2: Ask for Reasoning
Secondly, ask that the adjuster provide their reasoning as to why their offer is so low. When you do this, listen to the reasoning the adjuster provides you. If their reasoning is flawed, be sure to tell them why their reasoning is flawed. Also, ask that they provide you with a reasonable settlement offer. If they provide you with a written letter with the offer amount and their reasoning for the offer amount, you want to know their reasoning behind the low offer so that you can challenge them on any flawed reasoning behind the offer.
Tip 3: Confirm All Medical Records and Bills
Thirdly, confirm that the adjuster has all your medical records and medical bills. It could be the case that the insurance adjuster is missing some of your medical records or bills. If they are missing any of your medical records or medical bills, you need to make sure you get those from that specific medical provider and provide them to the insurance company. After you provide any missing records or bills to the insurance company, ask them to review those records, reevaluate the claim, and make you a new offer once they have reviewed those records and bills.
Tip 4: Never Accept the First Offer
Fourth tip, never accept the first settlement offer made by the insurance company. Insurance companies will always be willing to negotiate with you beyond the first settlement offer. You can negotiate with the insurance company if you have a claim. I always recommend that any injury victim start out with a demand offer, either demanding the insurance company pay out its insurance policy limits or, depending on the circumstances, for an amount over the value of your estimated case.
Case Example
I recently handled a case where the first offer on the case was only $5,000. After I filed a lawsuit and we negotiated further, we ended up getting a six-figure settlement on the case. So, remember: insurance companies will negotiate with you and make you a higher offer than their initial offer.
Exception to the Rule
Now, there is one exception to this rule: the only time you should consider accepting the first offer is if the initial insurance company offer to you is for the policy limits.
Conclusion
Using my tips in this video will be helpful in responding to a low settlement offer, but that alone won’t get you a fair and reasonable settlement offer. To get a fair and reasonable settlement for your injury claim, it’s crucial that you first know how to calculate a fair and reasonable settlement value for your case. And in this video here, I’ll show you how you can calculate a fair and reasonable settlement value range in your case. Lastly, if you’ve been injured in a car accident in Kentucky, remember: don’t wait, call Tate.
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