How To Negotiate With Insurance Company After An Accident?

If you have been involved in an automobile accident, you must call your insurance company and report the details of that same accident. The first call will not provide you with the chance to display your skills as a negotiator. Negotiations begin after you have sent a demand letter, letting your insurer know what money you expect, in the way of compensation.

That is the reason that you bought a car insurance policy. You wanted to know that you would be compensated, in case your automobile got damaged in a collision. You have determined the amount of money to which you feel entitled. You have stated that amount in a letter, and you are seeking a response to that same letter.

What happens during that first call?

Before you make that first call, prepare a list of your strongest arguments. You will be speaking with the adjuster, and the adjuster’s list sits on his or her desk. The adjuster expects you to call. Each of you makes reference to a couple of the strongest arguments as you discuss the accident. Be sure that you have a response ready, when you hear mention of any weaknesses in your case. Be prepared too for when the adjuster makes an offer.

Expect that offer to fall below the figure stated in your demand letter. You or your personal injury lawyer in Kingston should then reply by stating a figure that is higher than the adjuster’s, but lower than the one in your letter.

Will there be a series of calls?

There may be. There is no limit to the number of times that a policy holder can call an insurer, regarding a claim. If you have hired a lawyer, then your legal counsel would do the negotiating for you. In that case, your legal counsel would determine if and when the adjuster’s office should be called.

Another thing that determines the number of calls made is the nature of the adjuster’s offer. If that first offer seems ridiculously low, you or your lawyer should ask for a justification. Hopefully, the adjuster will give a justification over the phone. Then either you or your lawyer can respond in writing to the adjuster’s justification.

By writing and sending that letter, you or your team (you and your lawyer) have created another reason for contacting the adjuster. That one call can be made in order to get the adjuster’s response to the letter that came from your team. During each call, an effort should be made to see if a settlement can be reached.

If you can count on your lawyer to do the negotiating for you, then your legal counsel might be the recipient of something called a reservation rights letter. Insurance companies send such letters whenever a claim is being investigated. An insurer can get in trouble, if the demands of a policy holder have been ignored completely.