After a car accident, do not just accept a settlement offer quickly and move on. Hire a car accident lawyer to carefully consider whether the first offer is fair and fully compensates you for your injuries and damages. Taking the time to assess the offer and consult a car accident attorney can make a significant difference in the outcome of your case.
Your car accident lawyer may have filed your claim or lawsuit already, and you are waiting to hear back from the insurance company. You know that your case will likely settle at some point because very few car accident cases will ever go all the way to a jury trial.
If the other driver's insurance company makes an initial settlement offer, this is a sign that it intends to accept liability for the accident. However, the first settlement offer is likely far from what you deserve, and indicates how far you may have to go in the negotiation process to reach a settlement agreement.
Accordingly, your answer to the initial settlement offer will almost certainly be no. You have the right to counter the insurance company's offer with one of your own, leading to a negotiation process. You are best off when you have a car accident lawyer in Minnetonka handling things for you.
Insurance companies will pay a certain degree of respect to a claimant with legal representation because they know they can get away with less. Otherwise, insurance companies will push their luck as far as possible when dealing with you because they know you lack the capacity or knowledge to hold them accountable.
If you do not already have a car accident lawyer, contact one today to schedule a free initial consultation. It costs you nothing upfront to get a car accident attorney, but it can cost you everything if you do not get one.
Without a lawyer, you will be vulnerable to aggressive insurance company tactics, such as making you an initial settlement offer that does not reflect how much you deserve for your injuries.
To understand why you should never accept the initial settlement offer, you need to learn more about insurance companies and their role in the claims process. They will always look after their self-interest; you can never expect them to be fair or reasonable throughout negotiations.
Insurance Companies Step Into the Shoes of Their Policyholders
The driver who caused your accident likely has car insurance if they followed state law.
Every driver must have a minimum amount of coverage when they get behind the wheel, and the insurance policy is a contract between the driver and the insurance company. The driver pays monthly premiums, and the insurance company covers them in the event of an accident.
If the driver is in a crash, they do not need to get a lawyer or worry about defending themselves in the legal process. Insurance companies step into the shoes of their policyholders, and they have a duty to protect their claims or lawsuits.
They also must pay for the harm that their driver has caused, up to the amount of the policy limit. Thus, insurance companies become your adversary when you file a car accident claim.
The Claims Process Is Not Friendly, and It Can Be a Tough Negotiation
Accordingly, you must view the claims process as a potentially contentious proceeding. You can never trust insurance companies to do the right thing, which is to pay you for the total damages you have suffered when their driver was to blame for the accident.
A car accident claim will involve extensive negotiations, and insurance companies will refrain from making you their best offer first. They will start with a number that may be far from their bottom line, and raise that offer over time to get closer to an actual agreement.
Insurance Companies Have Superior Knowledge Right Off the Bat
You can be confident that insurance companies know exactly how much your case is worth as soon as the adjuster reviews your claim. Their sophisticated technology allows them to view their costs in real time.
They can see medical expenses in a specific geographical area based on the claims clients filed with them in the past. Insurance companies rely on exact calculations and aggressive tactics to capture as much of the driver's premium as possible.
Why Insurance Companies Make Low Initial Settlement Offers
Insurance companies will make you a low initial settlement offer for several reasons, including:
- They want to put down a placeholder showing they intend to settle your claim in the future without actually making you their best offer.
- They want to catch you unaware of the exact value of your claim.
- They try to settle before you know you have a legal right to reject their offers.
- They endeavor to add as much time as possible to the settlement process to make you more financially desperate and willing to accept their offer.
There Is No Requirement to Accept Any Settlement Offer
When you hire a car accident lawyer, you will know that the insurance company is making you a low settlement offer as a negotiating tactic, and you are under no legal obligation to accept it.
Your car accident attorney will also know the value of your claim before you file it. A car accident lawyer levels the playing field between you and the insurance company, giving you the knowledge the opposing party already has.
How Much Your Car Accident Claim is Worth
A car accident attorney may work with expert witnesses to learn the value of your claim before you file it.
They know that you can receive compensation for the following as part of your car accident damages:
- Medical expenses
- Property damages
- Lost income (or the reduction in your earnings capacity)
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Emotional distress
- Scarring and disfigurement
In particular, your car accident attorney also knows how to value your pain and suffering damages. This area is one where insurance companies like to shortchange claimants by using objective calculations.
Therefore, you are on an equal footing with insurance companies when you hire a car accident lawyer, and they can do nothing to push you around or steamroll you.
Insurance Companies Think They Can Dictate to an Unrepresented Claimant
If you do not have an attorney, you may be in a position where you feel like you have to take whatever the insurance company offers. Insurance companies may look like they have the upper hand, but this is untrue. They are on an equal footing with you, no matter how much they like to give the impression that they have power.
When you hire a car accident lawyer, they almost always advise rejecting the insurance company's first offer. There are very few reasons why you would accept the initial offer; one is when the insurance company offers you the policy maximum as a possible settlement, but this rarely happens. In most cases, the initial settlement offer is paltry for a fraction of your deserved amount.
Your Options When the Insurance Company Makes You a Low Settlement Offer
Working through your car accident attorney, you will likely reject the insurance company's initial settlement offer.
At that point, you have a few options available to you that can include:
- Continue to negotiate with the insurance company, submitting your own counteroffer. Eventually, you may reach a settlement agreement.
- Send a more formal demand letter to the insurance company. The letter will inform the company that it needs to pay you what you demand, or you will take your case to court. The prospect of litigation may bolster your legal position.
- File a lawsuit directly against the responsible driver in court, where you will again see the insurance company because it is responsible for defending against the lawsuit. Even if you take your case to court, this does not mean it will go to trial. Most car accident lawsuits will settle before they see the inside of the courtroom.
Insurance Companies Fear Litigation
You are not obligated to accept any offer that insurance companies make you. They do not have the power to determine your legal rights and how much you may get in compensation. A jury can decide whether you deserve compensation and how much you may receive.
The ability to pursue litigation with a car accident lawyer is often your leverage when the insurance company persists in making low settlement offers. A jury will be more likely to award you the amount you deserve, which may be far more than the insurance company will have offered you in a settlement agreement.
Litigation itself is an expense for the insurance company. Your car accident lawyer works for you on a contingency basis, and they will work as long as it takes to get a favorable result without sending you a bill. The insurance defense law firm representing the insurance company charges using a flat fee or hourly billing.
The point is that litigation is neither free nor cheap for insurance companies, and it is an expense they may want to avoid incurring. Sometimes, their policyholder may even owe money from their own pocket because the case did not reach a settlement when it should have. In this case, the policyholder can file a bad faith lawsuit, which may have catastrophic results for the insurance company.
You Have More Power than You Think in Settlement Negotiations
You have far more leverage than you think when saying no to a low settlement offer. A car accident lawyer can continue fighting for you to get the money you deserve.
Even though more time passes before you get your settlement check, this is how you get the total amount of damages.
Insurance companies may be more reasonable when they see they cannot push you around, especially when you hire an aggressive and experienced car accident attorney. When you hire a lawyer, the insurance company knows that litigation may be a credible option, and that you can and will sue them if they do not raise their settlement offer.
The alternative is to approach insurance companies independently and trust them to do the right thing. Any trust in them is highly misplaced because they may pretend to want to help you while trying to take advantage of your situation. You may only realize that you have gotten far less than you deserve for your claim once it is too late to do anything about it.
It Costs You Nothing Out of Pocket to Hire a Car Accident Attorney
Many people assume that hiring an attorney is expensive and will only add to their financial burden. However, the reality is quite the opposite: hiring an attorney to protect your legal rights costs you nothing out of pocket.
Attorneys who handle insurance claims work on a contingency fee basis, meaning that they only get paid if they successfully secure a settlement or win a lawsuit on your behalf. If they cannot obtain compensation for you, you owe them nothing.
By working on a contingency fee basis, attorneys can provide accessible and affordable legal representation to those who need it most. This arrangement allows individuals to level the playing field and have an experienced professional advocate for their rights and interests.
When you hire an attorney to negotiate with the insurance company, you have a skilled advocate to fight for your best interests. They thoroughly understand insurance laws and regulations, allowing them to navigate the claims process easily. They will gather the necessary evidence, communicate with the insurance company, and build a strong case supporting your claim.
This experience level can significantly increase your chances of obtaining a fair settlement.
Hiring an personal injury attorney in Minnetonka levels the playing field and provides invaluable experience and support throughout the claims process. So, if you are facing resistance from the insurance company, you should always seek legal representation. You will not make a better decision for your case and your financial future.
Steve Fields
Founder | CEO | Principal | Attorney
Steve Fields founded Fields Law in 2001 and quickly established a reputation with his Personal Injury clients for being a lawyer who truly cares. After more than 20 years, those clients continue to refer their friends and family whenever they have been injured or become disabled.
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