Safely Navigating Your Car Accident Settlement

If you’ve been in a car crash and the other driver involved was found to be at fault, there is going to be a point where you have to enter into a negotiation with the insurance company to get compensated for your injuries and property damage.  The first essential step to settling these auto accident settlements is to gather up all of the paperwork that the insurance company requests and submit it to the insurance company.

After this, in most cases the insurance adjuster will send you a letter offering to settle the case for a set amount.  Many times the offer is reasonable and provides a good starting point for reasonable negotiations.  However, there are also times that the adjuster will send a completely low-balled offer as a negotiation tactic.  What can you do in these situations to ensure that you are winning insurance settlement negotiations?

The first, easiest, and cheapest option is to have the adjuster justify his offer.  Simply write a letter back to the adjuster saying you had a much higher offer in mind and would like to know the reasons that he offered you such a low offer.  Make notes of these reasons, and write another letter back to the adjuster disputing them the best you possibly can.  If this doesn’t work, you can also attempt to go over the adjuster’s head to the higher-ups at the insurance company.

A second, more expensive option is to seek professional advice from a certified lawyer with experience in trying auto accident or personal injury cases.  The lawyer will be able to tell you if the insurance adjuster’s offer is actually reasonable, and if it is not, he will be able to better represent you against the insurance company if the negotiations become heated or a trial becomes an option.