Auto Insurance Claims: insurance claim, insurance comp, claims adjuster

Question
i was in a car accident about a year ago. my car was totaled and was accepted a reasonable offer for it. i was also injured in this process in which i sought medical attention. i had minor work done to my shoulder and had my clavicle realigned properly . i attended about a month of physical therapy as well. i missed 2 week from work but had trouble attending records from my employer.  i sent the insurance comp all my medical bills and notes.  i called them and they offered me 5000.  when i did the math, that was just enough to cover all my medical expenses alone.he told me i didn't sustain any pain or suffering and he knew my doctor personally.  i told them i couldn't accept there offer.i called my physician and questioned him about the claim.  he told me he didn't know them nor has he spoken with them.  its been roughly two months now and i no word from them with a new offer or anything.  should i call them back to negotiate or ask  if that was there final offer?  all events took place in the state of va  thanks

Answer
Hi Ade,

The claims adjuster does not care about you or your pain and suffering. There job is to get you to settle your claim for as little as possible. Often they will lie, be deceptive, and provide misinformation. You should view the claims adjuster as an adversary who is trying to keep you from getting what you are entitled to.

That having been said, you should not deal with the adjuster on the phone. You should send a formal demand letter where you demand payment of a specific amount of money to be paid within a specific period of time, say 15 days. You may want to look at a website that can help you prepare a demand letter. Its called www.collisionwizard.com . The website even has a calculator that will help you determine a high and low range of the value of your claim. If it all proves to be too difficult to deal with then you should consider hiring an attorney.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh