If you are injured in a car accident then you will likely have to work with an insurance adjuster during the claims process. Whether it was your fault or the fault of another driver, there is likely to be an adjuster involved. In most cases, they are going to offer an initial settlement. This will almost always be less than you deserve. Before you accept it, contact The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker at 800-333-0000 for a free legal consultation.
The just description of an insurance adjuster
An insurance adjuster is a person who works on a personal injury case in order to find out the facts and evidence. They will look at what they find and then determine how much a case is worth. This description may make it seem as though they are impartial but they work for the insurance company. Remember that the insurance company’s goal is to keep their costs as low as possible, which means offer you the lowest possible settlement they can.
In addition to trying to lower payouts, insurance companies and their adjusters will also work to decrease the chances of a lawsuit being filed. The truth is that what a jury or judge awards an individual after a serious injury is often much more than the insurance company would pay if the case was settled out of court.
The insurance adjuster bases their decision on a number of factors
The insurance adjuster is, in most cases, going to work to get you to accept the lowest settlement possible. Generally speaking, they will set a maximum dollar amount for each case and then offer between one-quarter and one-half of that amount as their first offer. This gives them room to negotiate in the event the injured party knows they are being under-offered.
The insurance adjuster is going to be looking at the same things a jury would if they were deciding on damages. Factors include current and future medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. The economic issues, like lost wages and medical costs, are often fairly easy to determine but the non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are more subjective and may give you more room to negotiate.
There are two other things we will take into consideration
As we look at the insurance offer and determine if it is fair or not, there are two additional factors we’ll be looking at. First, we will consider the limits of the policy that will be paying out. If the insurance company is offering the maximum then it may be worth taking. In other situations, we may want to go after the at-fault party directly to get more than the maximum policy.
Second, we will consider how strong your case is. The bottom line is that we are on your side but a jury won’t automatically be on your side too. We will look not just at the specifics of your case but the strength of the evidence. To find out more about your potential options, we urge you to contact The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker at 800-333-0000 for a free legal consultation.
