Your lawyer will tell you that you’ll be dealing with an insurance company after you file a personal injury claim. Since you’ll be interacting heavily with an insurance adjuster you need to understand how he or she will handle your claim.
What makes the insurance adjuster tick?
Personal injury lawyers know that the insurance company will assign an adjuster to your personal injury claim the minute that you file it. The adjuster may seem to be friendly and supportive but remember that this is just part of doing his or her job. The adjuster’s real objective is to ensure that you get the lowest settlement value possible.
Personal Injury Lawyer in Kingston will tell you that adjusters also don’t want you to go to court with your case. They are well aware that you may well get a very high settlement in this case. Thus, they will do whatever they can to ensure that this doesn’t happen. Believe it or not, this gives you a huge advantage.
How does an insurance adjuster make an offer?
There are many factors that determine this. They are:
● Actual medical expenses and future ones. These are easy to calculate because they are straightforward.
● Lost income or wages. The limited ability to work in the future is also considered.
● Pain and suffering
● Other negative effects
Two other factors play important roles. They are the defendant’s policy limits and the strength of your case:
Policy limits
It doesn’t matter if your personal injuries amount to $2 million. If the defendant has a policy limit of $25,000 all you will get as a settlement is $25,000. Your personal injury lawyer will tell you this. You’ll either need to pay the difference out of your own pocket or sue the defendant in a different case.
The strength of your case
You are the plaintiff. If you have a strong case, you’ll probably get a fairly high settlement. The insurance adjuster will do this because he or she knows that you’d probably win if your case went to court., your settlement will be much lower if you have a weak case since the insurance adjuster knows that you may not win your case if it ever went to court!
On dealing with the insurance company
Now you are at an advantage because you understand how the insurance adjuster thinks. But there are some things that you need to think about as well.
● Hire a personal injury lawyer – you’ll probably win your case if you hire a personal injury lawyer. You may not win your case if you decide to represent yourself.
● Have good documentation – this is evidence and it will play a big role in determining if you get a settlement and how big it will be. It includes photos, videos, journals, medical records, bills, and proof of lost income from work.
● Send a demand letter – this justifies your settlement based on what you have been through. It also gives the insurance adjuster a base number to work with.
As is evident, insurance adjusters are not on your side. You’ll probably win your case if you hire a good personal injury lawyer. This may or may not be the case, if you don’t.
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