QuestionThis is regarding to the auto accident personal injury claim. Do you always demand first or let at fault driver’s insurance make an offer first and why? Thank you for your answer.
AnswerHi How to start a claim?
We attorneys ALWAYS want to make the first offer. This is true in EVERYTHING done in any negotiating session, be it a boundary line agreement or a personal injury insurance settlement. We teach that in our members' side negotiation module at www.SettlementCentral.Com But we probably have not given any solid examples of WHY it is best to go first, so read on to learn why.
The point is: he who speaks first gets to define the size of the park that you are playing in. The respondent has to fight off the assumptions as to the size of the part, or has to fight off conditions imposed.
Take any contract drafted by attorneys: a boundary line dispute resolution agreement, for example. We attorneys ALWAYS want the first draft since that is when we get to put our "stuff" into the mix. Then it somehow gains invisible inertia: something in writing has that status.
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FIRST, TAKE THE INITIATIVE and know that the adjuster is NOT your best friend or "good neighbor", and that her "good hands" are going to be in your pocket stealing what should be yours.
We teach our SettlementCentral.Com members that they should not make a settlement demand before they are pretty sure they have reached maximum medical improvement. BUT the adjuster wants to settle early so as to cut off any lingering damages compensation for lingering damages.
Hence, it is sometimes impossible to make the first offer since the adjuster often wants to get the claim done and off her desk as soon as possible. So, while we want to make the first offer, do NOT get in a big rush to beat the adjuster.
It is sometimes hard to avoid having the adjuster make an early offer since she is trying to settle the claim early, BEFORE the injury brings big money. Six months from now, if you are experiencing pains and aches after stressing your body at work, then the value of the claim increases.
If she can get the victim to settle early, before that injury drags on into one year or more, the adjuster can save a lot of money. By the way, did you know that getting an early settlement is a favorite trick of the insurance adjusters? Please see my website wherein we show Insurance Claim Adjuster Secret Tactics http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0092.htm
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You need to TAKE THE INITIATIVE, not the adjuster. By getting her settlement figure out there first, she is trying to define the size of the ballpark that you will play in. You cannot trust her to be fair.
All of that insurance advertising regarding being "in good hands" and "like a good neighbor" has convinced a majority of us that the insurance industry will be fair. Hence, we sit back and wait for them to take the initiative. They have brainwashed us to be against plaintiffs and trial attorneys and lawsuits. Hence, when we say all we want is to be reasonable, we are also playing into the trap of belief that the insurance industry will be reasonable.
No, they will not: they want to take advantage of each victim in the most abusive way they can. If you had agreed to some low-ball offer, do you think that adjuster would lie in bed worrying about cheating you? NO—she would be the toast of the office, and her quarterly review would cite the abusive settlement as a great accomplishment.
Take the initiative: a quick settlement of a serious injury IS NOT A GOOD IDEA. As for who should make an offer first, YOU should take the initiative, but only after you have gone through a few months of work AND your usual recreation physical activities and hobbies so as to test your healing. Take the initiative and DO NOT LET THE ADJUSTER DICTATE THE SIZE OF THE BALLPARK you are going to play in:
If the adjuster should make an early offer, it will be lower than the value of your claim. What should you do then? First, get your response to her inadequate offer, inform her you are still in treatment and it is too early to settle, and then in a few months, get your demand letter out there
So, yes, you will want to go first, AND DO IT IN WRITING ONLY. The phone is the turf of the adjuster. She has been through all this before. Hence, she knows the shortcuts and she knows the answers and she knows the weak points to hit. When she does this on the phone, laymen cannot possibly keep up with her. That is why she is going to try to do it on the phone.
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I will now give you a list of pages to read for general info on the claims process, AND then conclude with one last paragraph pleading for you to send e-mails vice using the phone.
I am going to give you a lot of links to see if you feel you want learn how to make your own insurance settlement with free legal auto insurance information www.SettlementCentral.Com Learn DO IT YOURSELF INSURANCE CLAIM SETTLEMENTS
OK, let’s Look at self-help methods of resolving your claim. Learn how to settle your personal injury insurance claim AND DO IT YOURSELF.
Here is a series of pages that you can review. Take what makes sense to you and don't worry about the rest. Just get a flavor of how the system works without spending a ton of time right now.
Just skim this one and don't spend much time on it: overview Tort Law Personal Injury Legal Claims http://www.settlementcentral.com/page3000.htm
Managing Medical Care After Auto Accident: http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0203.htm
Medical Care Documentation-the Key to Successful Personal Injury Insurance Claim Settlements http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0217.htm
Keys to a MAXIMUM INSURANCE INJURY CLAIM SETTLEMENT http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0089.htm
Use a Confidential Personal Injury Diary for TOP DOLLAR Insurance Claim Settlements http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0208.htm
Outline of questions to be expected from insurance claims adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0190.htm
Detailed listing of questions to be expected from insurance claims adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0207.htm
By the way, did you know that getting an early settlement is a favorite trick of the insurance adjusters? Please see my website wherein we show Insurance Claim Adjuster Secret Tactics http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0092.htm
Responding to Settlement Offer From Insurance Claims Adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0244.htm
Do It Yourself Advantages, or do these claims need an attorney? As for an ATTORNEY, this does not seem to be a case that involves any legal issues in dispute nor any large or complex damages. Why should you pay someone one-third to do what you can do yourself? Do-It-Yourself Personal Injury Claims; Eliminate Personal Injury Attorneys' Fees; Save Thousands of Dollars Settling Your Own Insurance Claim http://www.settlementcentral.com/page3011.htm
Without having to join my website, I have given a lot of free information on handling insurance claims without having to join as a member. Read the module at "5 Easy Steps to Do-it-Yourself Insurance Claim Settlement" http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0102.htm
This stuff is not rocket science, but it will take some effort on your part to read and cut and paste letter examples and to communicate. But hundreds of people are doing it each day, and they are getting good results.
What if you get only two-thirds the way to your settlement goal? Well, you can get as big a settlement as you can and then turn it over to an attorney and save a lot of fees. Thus, you could go it alone just to get an insurance settlement offer, and then take that insurance settlement offer to a personal injury attorney, thus exempting the amount of the offer from her fees. Do It Yourself Personal Injury Settlement Offer Reduces Personal Injury Attorney Fees http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0109.htm
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FINAL TOPIC: Effective communication with insurance claims adjusters. Establish Firm, Professional, and Positive Relationships With the Insurance Injury Claims Adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0059.htm
Always communicate with the adjuster in writing, showing your own analysis of value. It is OK I guess to have one call or so, but no more. Always have your information and ammunition in writing to give to the adjuster.
Let her know that you are FIRM IN YOUR RESOLVE to get what you are demanding (NOT "asking", since that invites a counter-offer, but instead "demanding" as fair and reasonable compensation) by asking her what the options are to resolve the matter fairly should she not agree to a reasonable claim value. In other words, let her know that you will go through with a court filing if need be.
Remember these tips, do your homework, print out your evidence, show resolve to get your fair settlement, and you will DO JUST FINE.
I trust that my extra time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
