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Now, like it or not, there are quite a few different things that you might want to take into account when it comes to dealing with an insurance adjuster. The first thing that you need to know is that these are the insurance company’s agents who are responsible for conducting an internal investigation and assigning the fault in an accident. Furthermore, they need to adjust the amount of the compensation accordingly, hence their name.
As you may know, the province of Ontario is governed by the Insurance Act and the hereby cited Rules of Fault Determination. There is a specific provision which relates to the so-called “no fault” rule which allows parties to seek compensation regardless of whether they have been at fault or not. This raises the question – why do insurance companies need to assign fault on their own? Well, it’s pretty logical, actually. They need to make sure that the fault is assigned in order to adjust the actual amount of the compensation. A faulty driver shouldn’t be put on the same grounds in terms of rights of receiving compensation as one who had no fault. Furthermore, this is going to significantly alter your risk factor and the amount of your insurance premiums.
In any case, the insurance adjuster is going to offer you a lower amount of money, especially with his first official offer. He’s going to say something of the kind that he doesn’t have the authority to go over this limit and that this is the best that he can do. This is 100% sure, you can rest assured. Of course, none of it is actually true. Insurance adjusters might have certain limitations but they are definitely amounting to the actual size of the compensation at the very least. With this in mind, the first offer is something that’s just trying the waters and hoping for the best. This is why you should refuse it.
However, you shouldn’t simply refuse it by saying that you aren’t interested, you should also say that if that’s the case and that he wouldn’t be able to provide you with a better offer, you’d have to go ahead and seek your rights to monetary compensation through the court. Do that and observe the quick change of tone that’s going to take place. This is something particularly important and you should make sure that everything is handled perfectly. It is actually best if you rely on the services of a professional personal injury lawyer to handle this for you. They have the necessary expertise to make things happen accordingly and quickly. Furthermore, they are likely to work on a contingency basis so you don’t have to pay upfront. Thus, schedule a appointment with a few lawyers in town and get to know the value of the case.