Negotiating automobile accident settlements doesn’t have to be as mysterious as some make it out to be.  By knowing a little bit about how to handle your claim and what to expect from insurance companies, you can successfully negotiate many types of small and medium claims without the help of expensive lawyers.  If at any point you feel over your head or that you are being taken advantage of, you can always enlist the help of one of the many lawyers you can find online.

The first step in dealing with car accident settlements is to make sure you collect all the information that you will need to support your claim.  This begins immediately after the traffic accident.  The pieces of evidence that you will need include, but may not be limited do:

  • Accident Facts
  • Medical Records
  • Wage slips and other proof of financial losses related to the accident
  • Any evidence you can offer of pain and suffering that was a direct result of the accident

Collecting this information will make the rest of the auto accident settlement process much easier and less time consuming.  If you save everything and do this right, you should be able to settle for more and quicker than you otherwise would have been able to.

The next step in the car lawsuit settlement process is to submit all the materials and evidence that the insurance adjuster requires.  Usually this will be shortly followed by a settlement offer from the adjuster.  If it takes too long for him to submit an offer, you can mail a demand letter of your own, but beware because this gives away a log of your bargaining power.  Only do this if you know for sure what you are doing.

The number that the adjuster gives you is probably at the low end of a settlement range that he would be willing to agree to.  Many insurance companies base this range off of the personal injury settlement software Colossus, but the degree to which they rely on the program varies.  The program itself is shrouded in secrecy, and the only details that seem to get out are that the figures are highly correlated to your medical records.

So how can you use all this to help in negotiations?  Well, you know that more often than not, the insurance adjuster has a range and he will be giving you the low end of that range.  So, never agree to the first offer.  Instead try to bargain for a higher one and find the top end of his range.

This, however, doesn’t mean you should make ridiculous offers.  The lower the number, the tighter the range an adjuster will likely agree to, so an offer for a $1,000 settlement won’t likely turn into $10,000.  More likely, you will be able to negotiate it up to $2,500 or $3,000.

That’s all that’s involved in dealing with automobile accident settlements.  If you hit an impasse or feel like you’re in over your head, there are several options available to you, but the best option is to hire a lawyer.  While it’s also the most expensive option, it will make sure you don’t get taken advantage of.  You can find many different good lawyers online.

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Filed under: Determining Compensation • Negotiating a Settlement

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