Insurance adjusters work on your claim immediately after you file it. This article will tell you more about that process. After you get into a personal injury accident, the first thing you’ll do is hire a lawyer. You will then file a personal injury claim with the insurance company of the at-fault party. Since insurance adjusters are responsible for determining the monetary value of your claim and hence the amount of your final settlement, you need to know how they handle claims.
It helps if you understand what motivates the insurance adjuster
Your personal injury lawyer will tell you to be wary if your insurance adjuster seems to be extremely friendly. Your personal injury lawyer will tell you that the adjuster is not your friend. Instead, he or she works for the insurance company. It’s his or her job to save his or her employer as much money as possible. Therefore, the adjuster is only interested in settling your claim quickly with the lowest amount possible. The insurance adjuster also wants to settle the claim out of court if possible. This is because going to trial can be a risky and very expensive proposition for his or her employer.
You need to know how your insurance adjuster will decide upon on offer
Personal injury lawyers in El Monte know that insurance adjusters take many factors into consideration when determining the total and final value of your case. Incidentally, these are the same factors that a jury would take into consideration when determining the monetary value of your case. They are:
● All present and future expenses related to the personal injury accident
● Lost present and future income/wages
● Pain and suffering
● Other negative consequences of your injuries
Insurance adjusters must also keep the policy limits and the merits of your case in mind when determining final settlement value.
The policy limits
You won’t get more than $500,000 in a settlement if the defendant’s insurance policy limit is $500,000. If your personal injury accident-related expenses are more than that, you will need to arrange a way to collect the extra money directly from the defendant.
The strength of the plaintiff’s case
Your personal injury lawyer will tell you that your settlement will likely be higher if you have a strong case because then the insurance adjuster will be aware that you would probably win in court!
When dealing with the insurance company
You should have strong evidence either in the form of videos or photographs of your personal injury accident. It will increase your settlement value. It will also increase the likelihood of you winning a settlement in the first place. You should also hire a good personal injury lawyer and ask him or her to send a demand letter to the defendant’s insurance company on your behalf.