How To Negotiate With The Insurance Company In Order To Get Fair Settlement?

Getting compensated for injuries sustained in an accident is a must. A personal injury lawyer in North Bay understands that after a doctor has examined an injured victim, then he/she can take the steps that should lead to the start of negotiations with the insurance company. Yet, those negotiations should not get underway until the treatment has finished, allowing the victim’s attainment of maximum medical improvement.

What smart victims/claimants can do prior to the start of negotiations?

Determine the value of their claim. Calculate the amount of money spent on doctor’s visits, on any medication and any other prescribed treatment. Calculate the value for the income lost, while home recovering from reported injury.

When recovery close to completion, compose and send a demand letter. That letter should spell out the reasons that the insurance company’s policyholder has been blamed for contributing to occurrence of the injury-causing accident. The same letter should also provide information on the nature and extent of the claimant’s injuries. In addition, it ought to offer details on the prescribed treatment for those same injuries.

If the collision had caused a great deal of damage to the claimant’s vehicle, then it would be a good idea to include a photo of the same damage in the envelope with the demand letter. Indeed, any evidence or statement that managed to focus on some emotional aspect of the losses that the claimant had suffered would help with winning a fair settlement.

Tips for the untrained negotiator

Even though adjusters may be more experienced at negotiating a settlement, none of them has the ability to provide a first-hand account of any accidents. In that sense, any claimant has an advantage over any representative from the insurance company.

Do not start negotiations until any of the injured claimants have reached to point of maximum medical improvement (MMI). Resist any pressure to negotiate with one of the insurer’s representatives. Contact the insurance company, if the adjuster does not respond to a given offer or counteroffer.

Still, do not try contacting the adjuster or the insurance company until both have had an adequate amount of time for weighing carefully a specific offer or counteroffer. In other words, be persistent, but also be patient. Claimants that can demonstrate both of those qualities have the best chance for obtaining a fair compensation package, after settling with the other side’s negotiator.

Be fair to yourself, as the negotiations are almost finished. Do not agree to settle if you suspect that your injury has not healed completely. Insurance companies always ask a claimant to sign a release form, before it arranges for delivery of the promised funds. Once it obtains that signed form, it refuses to cover whatever costs might be associated with treating any new symptoms, or dealing with any unanticipated, post-treatment complications.