There are over five million auto accidents every year that result in two million injured people and close to twenty thousand dead. If you are unfortunate enough to be adversely affected by an auto accident, one of the options you have to resolve your claim is to pursue an auto accident settlement. However, attempting to negotiate with an insurance company can be extremely hard, frustrating, and confusing all at the same time. Fortunately, there are several different things that you can do to increase your chances of a settlement in your favor. Unfortunately, like most things this will take some time, effort, and research on your part.
Attorney or No Attorney?
The first major decision that you will have to make when dealing with car accident claims is whether or not to hire an attorney to work on your behalf. This will many times depend on the size of your case and the cost of the lawyer. If your case is complicated or involves a large settlement amount, it will most likely be worth your money to hire an attorney to litigate the case and negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf. However, if your case is fairly straightforward and easy to understand or involves a fairly small settlement amount, it may not be worth the money to hire an attorney. Whatever you can in the settlement from having the attorney negotiate for you will most likely be offset by the attorney’s fees.
There are several things that an attorney will do for you during an auto accident injury settlement. They will take care of gathering all the necessary information and submitting it to the insurance company. They can also more accurately determine the amount of pain and suffering damages you can ask for and also are aware of all the rules that are designed to protect your rights in the case. Attorneys may also know several people in the insurance company you’re dealing with, increasing the odds of a settlement in your favor. Finally, and most importantly, attorneys have lots of experience with insurance negotiations. This experience will let them negotiate harder and will ensure that you will mostly likely get more money in any settlement than you would if you negotiated for yourself.
You will have to weigh the pros and cons of hiring a lawyer on a case by case basis.
Filing an Auto Accident Insurance Claim
Before you get to the settlement phase of any negotiation, you must first file an insurance claim after the auto accident. What you do in this step and how thorough you are with the information you collect will directly affect how much money you will be able to receive in any settlement.
First, immediately after a crash make sure you take pictures of the accident and the surrounding area. Make sure you keep these backed up and private as an ace up your sleeve to use in any negotiations with the insurance company. Also get a copy of the police report and any tickets that assign blame for the crash. Finally, think you may be injured in any way make sure you visit the emergency room. Whether or not you seek care from a professional is how insurance companies determine if you were injured or not. If you do not seek care immediately they can make a case that the injury was caused by something other than the car crash.
If you need continuing treatment for any injuries sustained in the crash make sure that you keep copies of all of your medical records. Also keep records of any lost wages from work and time and money spent traveling to and from the treatment facility. All of this documentation will come in handy during negotiations.
If your car was damaged in the crash, make sure you take it to a body shop that you trust and that you keep all records of what was repaired. Some insurance companies have certified body shops that you can take your car to so that in the event the repaired part fails you are covered. If you decide to go to a different body shop, it would be wise to have a second shop double check your car to make sure it is repaired correctly.
Negotiating Auto Accident Settlements
If you have done the steps above and kept thorough records of everything dealing with your crash, you will be in a much better position to negotiate your settlement with the insurance company. Remember that an insurance settlement is really a negotiation between you and the insurance company. You and the insurance company are essentially deciding on the price that it will take to keep you from taking your case to court. The negotiation strategies that are used in business, politics, and other arenas will work here, so if you are an experienced negotiator, you will have an advantages over other when it comes to this stage.
The first thing you should do before heading over to meet with the insurance company is to determine a range that you think is acceptable to you to settle the claim. This is your “win set”. The insurance company will have made one of these up as well, and it will undoubtedly be lower than yours. In general, your goal should be to move the insurance adjuster’s win set so that it is inside yours and you get the greatest possible settlement. The insurance adjuster will be trying to do this as well, but to get your to agree to the least possible settlement. There are various tactics you can both use.
Remember in automobile accident settlements you are selling to the insurance company your rights to take them to court over the auto accident you suffered. Any information that you can present that would strengthen your case in the eyes of a jury and cause them to reward you more money will strengthen your bargaining position and usually cause the adjuster to bump up his price. This can include photos of your crushed car, evidence that the other party was under the influence, and other factors. Having all your paperwork in order also strengthens you position because there are less holes that the insurance company can poke into your argument over technicalities. When negotiating, always have the insurance company make the first Finally, hiring a lawyer also strengthens your position. Not only is the lawyer more experience at negotiations, hiring a lawyer also sends a message that you are not afraid of taking the case to trial if the settlement offered by the insurance company is not adequate.
The insurance company will also have several tricks that they will use to make your car accident compensation lower. The first is the long amount of time you must usually wait to receive any money. This is not always the case, but companies are aware that most people will need the money from their settlement to pay off medical bills and make up for lost wages. By making you jump through more hoops during the settlement process and delaying their actions, they make you more and more desperate for money and more likely to accept any settlement they offer. They will also attempt to cast any doubt they can on your claims if you do not have the adequate paperwork. This is why it is very important to collect the right paperwork during all the different phases of your accident and settlement.
Auto Accident Settlement cases can be very difficult for the average person to deal with, and the inexpensive car insurance companies most people have can be the most difficult because they need to keep premiums down. If you are having trouble dealing with the insurance company and aren’t sure if you’re getting the right amount for your claim, make sure to contact a lawyer and seek professional legal advice.