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The initial offer from the insurance company does not reveal how much money the insurer could be willing to pay the claimant. By the same token, the demand from the claimant does not reveal what minimum amount of money the claimant would agree to accept. That is the situation at the start of the negotiations.
Insurance companies usually come forward with a low initial bid.
By offering a small amount of money, the insurance company hopes to learn to what degree the claimant’s desire to settle could hasten the arrival at a settlement. Personal injury lawyers in Sudbury always tell their clients to refuse the first offer. Instead, the client/plaintiff should respond with a slightly lower demand.
After receiving that reduced demand, the insurance adjuster usually responds with a slightly higher offer. That pattern continues until both sides of the negotiation manage to agree on one of the offered and demanded figures.
Actions that can help claimants obtain a fair compensation
Claimants’ level of organization provides a hint of their chances for receiving a fair compensation. Organized claimants make the adjuster’s task easier. It is a fact that claimants’ patience must be combined with persistence. The claimant’s request for information should not come until after the adjuster has been provided with time for seeking out that same information. Still, no adjuster should be dealing with a claimant that tends to act like a doormat.
Challenges that might be raised during negotiations
A claim that the defendant’s policy does not cover the situation that gave rise to the accident. A good personal injury lawyer would know to reject that challenge, unless it had been proven by delivery of a copy of the policy in question. An allegation that the plaintiff shared some of the fault with the defendant: If that could be proven, then, the plaintiff’s reward would get lowered.
A challenge to the size of the demand, in light of the fact that the plaintiff’s medical history showed either the existence of a pre-existing condition, or a reportedly healed injury, from an earlier accident. Ideally, other information in the claimant’s medical records could help with fighting that challenge.
That added information should include the results of a recent examination. That result ought to underscore the fact that the claimant was in good health on the day of the accident. In other words, there would be no basis for a claim that the injuries had resulted from an exaggeration of an existing injury or medical condition.
Another challenge that could come from the adjuster might relate to the type of treatment given to the injured victim. Insurance companies tend to reduce the compensation whenever a chiropractor, instead of someone with an MD degree, has treated the victim.