Have you or a loved one suffered an injury in an accident and wondered what the insurance company does before offering you a settlement? Many people across the country become accident victims daily because of driver errors, mechanical failures, negligence, etc. Being in an accident can turn your life upside down, and not knowing what comes next can be unbearable. Continue reading to learn more about how insurance companies negotiate settlements with accident victims. Reach out to a Cape Girardeau personal injury lawyer.
The Initial Investigation
The settlement negotiation process begins with the initial investigation. Each driver’s insurance company will conduct its investigation. At the end of the investigation, each insurance company will assign fault. You may receive a settlement offer if the insurance company determines that its insured is responsible for the accident.
Steps in an initial insurance company investigation include:
Phone Calls
After an accident, you can count on receiving a call from the other driver’s insurance company. The insurance company will call looking for information about the accident. An insurance adjuster will ask you to give a recorded statement. You should be cautious about giving a recorded statement because what you say can be used against you during settlement negotiations and if your case goes to trial.
Collecting Evidence
As a part of its investigation, the insurance company will work to gather all the evidence available. An insurance company will be thorough when it gathers evidence because it wants to avoid paying an accident claim.
A representative from the insurance company will likely:
- Visit the scene of the accident
- Watch traffic camera footage
- Review the police report
- Speak to witnesses
- Review your medical records and medical bills
- Review mental health treatment records
- Look at pictures of your injuries
- Talk to your employer about any absences from work
Calculate Damages for Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering damages are not as straightforward as other types of damages that happen after an accident. Pain and suffering damages include injuries that you cannot see. As an accident victim, the law entitles you to receive compensation for the inconvenience of getting hurt in an accident. That is why accident victims are sometimes awarded money for their pain and suffering.
The Insurance Company Will Speak to Your Attorney
After its initial investigation is complete, the insurance company will reach out to your attorney if counsel represents you. Generally, this conversation will focus on contacting the attorney’s office and the insurance company. The insurance company will need to know who to contact when it is ready to make a settlement offer. The first conversation will likely be with an insurance adjuster. As the case continues, your attorney will begin speaking with an attorney for the insurance company.
If the insurance adjuster does not provide a satisfactory settlement offer, then your attorney will likely begin corresponding directly with the insurance company’s attorney. This usually happens after your lawyer files a lawsuit when settlement negotiations break down.
The Insurance Company Will Send a Settlement Offer to Your Attorney
The insurance company will calculate your approximate damages and offer an initial settlement offer. The insurance company often sends out an initial offer quickly to resolve the matter at the least cost to the insurance company. An initial settlement offer is unlikely to be enough money to cover your losses. Often an accident victim’s injuries can worsen over time. You may make a mistake if you accept the quickest offer to end the case.
How Does an Insurance Company Calculate an Initial Settlement Offer?
The insurance company will calculate its initial settlement offer based on the evidence it collects during its initial investigation. There are a few ways that insurance companies determine the proper amount of money to offer during a settlement. An insurance company may base its initial settlement offer on the following:
Company-wide Policy
Some insurance companies may have a company-wide policy about how much the company offers for an initial settlement. They likely base these policies on past cases with similar facts. If there is a company policy for initial settlement offers, then the insurance adjuster’s hands are tied, and you may have to hunker down and wait for a better offer or to take your case to trial.
The Insured’s Policy Limits
The insured’s policy limits will affect the amount of money offered to a victim in a settlement. An insurance company is not obligated to pay past the limits of an insurance policy on any one accident claim. If your damages are more significant than the insured’s policy limits, you may need to pursue other sources for compensation. Insufficient insurance policy limits are often the reason that you must name every potentially responsible party in a lawsuit or insurance claim.
An Estimate of Your Injuries and Damages
The insurance company typically bases the initial offer on the total of your damages. Use caution when accepting an offer based on your current losses near the beginning of the litigation. Your injuries can increase over time, especially if the losses are for medical treatment or lost income.
The Determination of the Insured’s Liability
The initial offer depends on the insured’s liability. During its initial investigation, the insurance company will determine which party is responsible for causing the accident. Suppose it turns out that the insurance company’s policyholder caused the accident. In that case, the insurance company may make a quick settlement offer to close the case without losing much money.
What Does My Attorney Do?
Your accident attorney will create a demand package to send to the insurance company. A demand package includes a letter that explains your damages, your perspective of how the accident happened, what your side learned through its investigation, your damages, and your demand for settlement.
Your demand package will likely include:
- Medical records and medical bills.
- Proof of your lost income.
- Witness statements.
- Possibly some statements of witnesses that will testify in your favor.
A demand letter can be persuasive. A demand package can convince an insurance company to increase a settlement offer to avoid going to trial.
How Does an Attorney Calculate Settlement Value?
Your accident attorney will make its own settlement value calculation. The attorney representing you will investigate your claim themselves to find out your harm and losses. Your attorney’s investigation into the facts may be even more thorough than the insurance company’s investigation. The right accident attorney will leave no stone left unturned to get the facts of the case and increase your odds of a reasonable settlement from the insurance company.
An attorney may take these steps to complete their investigation into the facts of your accident case:
Talk to Witnesses
Talking to witnesses fills in the blanks for insurance companies and accident attorneys. Witness accounts can help prove liability and damages.
Read the Accident Report
The responding officer will create an accident report containing their fault finding. Your attorney will want to review the officer’s findings because an insurance adjuster will also read the accident report. An accident attorney can also use the information they learn from an accident report to anticipate arguments that the insurance company’s lawyer will make that are not in your favor.
Visit the Scene
Pictures are a great way to learn about the cause of an accident, but there is nothing like seeing the scene for yourself. Depending on the type of accident that caused your injuries, your attorney can visit and survey the scene for themselves.
Review Medical Records
Your attorney will want copies of your medical records. Their office will read your records carefully and summarize your injuries. One reason your accident attorney wants to read your medical records is to find out about other medical conditions. The insurance company is also on the lookout for any condition you had before the accident that can explain your injuries. Your attorney will want to be one step ahead of the insurance company and prepare themselves for the insurance company’s argument that another condition caused the accident.
How Do Accident Attorneys Charge for Their Service?
The cost of services depends on the attorney. Generally, accident attorneys work on contingency fees and take a percentage of the settlement award as their payment. You should ask about the details and make sure that you understand the agreement before you agree to have the attorney represent you.
What Happens if I Do Not Get a Good Settlement Offer?
Sometimes, the insurance company does not present a good settlement offer. If that happens, your attorney will work with you, and you will decide together about what step to take after the initial offer is unsatisfactory.
Counteroffer
If the initial offer is unreasonably low, you can present the insurance company with a counteroffer. A counteroffer serves as an official rejection of an initial offer. Your attorney will use the information collected during their investigation to create a counteroffer. The insurance company can reject the counteroffer. If that happens, then the case may proceed to trial.
Proceed to Trial
Eventually, your case may need to proceed to trial to resolve the matter. At trial, the determination of whether and how much money your case is worth is in the hands of a judge or jury. Your attorney will prepare you how to answer questions about your case and your story. Being thoroughly prepared for trial is the best way to ensure you can receive the best award for your damages.
What Can Increase the Value of My Settlement?
There are various factors that increase the value of a settlement. The final value of your settlement is fact-dependent.
Facts that may increase the value of your settlement include:
- Suffering from severe injuries
- The hours that you missed at work
- Total or partial disability
- Permanent disfigurement
- Lost earning capacity
- Lasting emotional trauma
What Can I Do to Help My Case?
You are not powerless after an accident. You can take affirmative steps to participate in your case.
After getting into an accident:
- Follow your doctor’s orders. It is very important that you closely follow your doctor’s recommendations after an accident. If you fail to get or complete medical treatment, you may be handing your chances of a successful case over to the insurance company.
- Do not speak to the insurance company without an attorney. The insurance company wants to protect its interests and avoid paying out settlements. Insurance adjusters may try to contact you and trap you into a statement to accomplish this goal. Do not be fooled even if the insurance adjuster seems like they are on your side. An attorney will recognize the traps that insurance companies try to set and help you avoid them.
- Avoid making social media posts about your accident. Insurance companies work hard to disprove your claims, and they will scour the internet for any evidence that your injuries are not as bad as you claim. Staying off social media while your case is pending is the best option.
Why is it Important to Have an Attorney?
Personal Injury Attorney, Phillip J. Barkett
Examples of how having an accident attorney are beneficial to your case include:
- An attorney will represent your interests to an insurance company and in court.
- Your attorney has experience with cases like yours and can help you determine what your case is worth and if a settlement offer is satisfactory.
- Help you understand the likelihood of success if your case goes to trial.
- Negotiate with insurance adjusters and defense attorneys on your behalf
- An accident attorney can intercept communications from debt collectors, including hospital billing departments, and help you avoid the stress of collection letters and calls.
- Give you access to medical care.
- Gain access to expert witness
- Benefit from the attorney’s professional experience
If you suffered an injury in an accident and you need money to recover from your losses, you need a Cape Girardeau personal injury lawyer to help you through the process. Your lawyer is your advocate, and it is the lawyer’s job to work for a settlement that is based on what you need and deserve after an accident. An accident attorney provides professional help to accident victims who have had their lives upended due to another person’s or company’s negligence.