What to Do If Your Insurance Company Offers a Low Settlement Post Accident

Being critically injured in an accident can change your life in dramatic ways. Like most drivers, there’s a good chance you will be zeroed in on making a compelling insurance claim after an accident. Following the vehicle accident, you might exchange contact, personal and insurance details so that you can start a claim with the other driver’s auto insurance policy. When the insurance company offers a low settlement, contact a personal injury lawyer to evaluate your case.

You may be asked by your insurance company to provide an unofficial statement, get repair estimates, and include any evidence. The insurance company should give you the money that you must have for your lost wages, medical expenses and property damage. However, things don’t always happen in this way. Insurance companies are interested in primarily protecting their own bottom line and may therefore, delay or minimize the extent of your claim. They may even outright deny coverage in your case. This can be an overwhelming experience for someone who has already been seriously injured in an accident.

Remember that any insurance settlement presented to you by your carrier is an opportunity for negotiation. If you think that a settlement offer is too small or if you already know that it does not cover your comprehensive expenses after an accident, you do not have to agree to it. The first offer presented by an insurance company or any offer presented after that is not one that you must accept.

Insurance companies may count on your lack of awareness about the impact of your case and may try to encourage you to take a low settlement offer because it is in their best interests and not yours to do so. Insurance companies have every motivation to cut down on their losses. They may try to put pressure on you to accept their initial offer, even though this being a true negotiation. You should never speak directly to the insurance company or agree to anything until you’ve had an opportunity to talk with your own attorney about the case. Your insurance company will not tell you everything you need to know about your rights, although you do have the right to respond and ask for more if it is necessary for full and reasonable compensation for what happened. There are a couple of different steps you can take to increase your chances of success after getting a low settlement offer. First of all, you need to contact a dedicated personal injury attorney immediately. Calculating your proper compensation is the next stage of your case.

A personal injury lawyer will help you put together all of the non-economic and economic damages associated with your injuries. This might include your current/future medical expenses as well as any other expenses tied to the injury’s impact on your life.

A knowledgeable personal injury attorney will walk you through this space so that you understand your rights in full and avoid missing any crucial elements in your calculations.

When sitting down with your personal injury attorney, you might also arrive at the minimum settlement offer you would be willing to accept. You must have an amount that you are hoping to get to as well as a smaller amount you are willing to accept because this is often a matter of compromise. Make sure that you ask for the driver’s policy limit. An insurance company won’t agree to an amount that is higher than the driver’s policy limit but this number may be less that what you need. Your personal injury lawyer should find out the driver’s policy limit and then consider a personal injury lawsuit for maximum compensation. Insurance companies are unlikely to inform you about this. In order to respond appropriately to a low settlement offer, you need to reject it first. If the initial offer was made in writing, your rejection should come in the same format. You can answer each point established from their offer and this letter can be drafted directly by your personal injury attorney.

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If you or a loved one has been injured on the job, we can help protect your rights. For a free initial consultation, contact us by e-mail or call our offices, in New Brunswick at 732-247-3600 or in Somerville at 908-448-2560.