Guide For Claimant That Expects To Negotiate With Insurance Company

This guide should prove useful to the person that has filed a personal injury claim. That same individual should send a demand letter to the appropriate insurance company. Then, after reading the guidance in this article, that same claimant should stand prepared to negotiate with the insurance company that got the demand letter.

The call from an adjuster

That should come not long after the sending of the demand letter. During that phone conversation, both parties should state the points that support their view of the situation. The details that support a point being made should give the strengths and weaknesses of the claim that must be negotiated.

After discussion of strengths and weaknesses the adjuster makes an offer. The claimant must think about that offer, while keeping in mind the amount that he or she was planning to request, when writing the document that triggered the adjuster’s call. The claimant’s counter offer should be higher than the one mentioned by the adjuster, but it could be lower than what your Injury Lawyer in Cambridge who filed the claim had hoped to receive.

If the negotiations move along smoothly, the adjuster’s and the claimant’s offer keep getting shared over the phone. Still, at some point, the insurance company may send a reservation of right letter.

What is a reservation of rights letter?

That is a message from the insurance company. It states that the insurer is still investigating the claim and stands by the right not to pay any money until the investigation shows that the accident is covered by the claimant’s policy. The insurer wants to make it clear that the company’s readiness to start negotiations does not represent a willingness to cover the accident, at least not at that point in time.

Something else that can slow the rate at which negotiations move forward

That is something called a low ball offer from the adjuster, often one that the person making the offer refuses to increase. A written letter is the ideal response to the low amount that has been offered. Ask for an explanation of the findings on which that low amount has been based.

Approach to use, if you will be negotiating with an insurance company

Emphasize the points that showcase the strength of your argument

Make use of those items that can tug on the insurer’s emotions. For instance, send the insurance company a picture of an injury or of a damaged vehicle.

Once an agreement has been reached, ask that details on the settlement be sent to you in written form. Write a letter to the adjuster and state the date when you expect to be getting a document from the insurance company.