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Dealing with Insurance Adjusters...Dealing with insurance adjusters effectively will help you get a personal injury settlement offer quickly and smoothly.The independent claims adjuster is the person you'll be negotiating with to reach a personal injury settlement agreement. Understanding who they are and dealing with insurance adjusters effectively is important if you want to handle your own injury claim successfully. The adjuster has a very specific job. It's up to them to make sure the personal injury settlements are fair for the insurance company. This doesn't necessarily mean they don’t care about the victim; they care that the victim only gets what they're entitled to. Of course they'll sometimes determine that a victim isn't entitled to anything at all. No doubt there will be times when the adjuster comes across as cold and callous, but you must understand that a big part of their job is turning very human things like pain and suffering, into mathematical numbers and formulas. Are they really that bad? Before looking closer at all those negative aspects, take a moment to appreciate that their job really is necessary. Without claim adjusters anyone could claim any amount of money from an insurance company no matter what the circumstances. If everyone in the world was honest this could be a great little automated system, dealing with insurance adjusters wouldn't be unnecessary. Unfortunately that isn’t the case and without someone policing every insurance claim there would be no way for the company to survive. All jokes aside, that would leave us all suffering. Realistically... The adjuster’s job is to stand in your way throughout the claims process. No matter what you say, they have to determine for themselves the cause of the accident and how much their client was at fault. They have to determine exactly how much money the accident actually cost you in terms of special damages. They have to calculate other general damages as well and, more importantly, they have to be convinced those damages are legitimate. Your relationship with the claim adjuster involves discussing your claim and convincing them it's legitimate. Still, since it's their job to lower their own costs they'll want to show that the accident was partially your fault. So while you're doing your best to present your case convincingly you'll still have to keep an open mind. If the accident really was partially your fault you may just have to concede a little. Your relationship with the claim adjuster should be one of respect. Mutual respect (this does not mean blind trust on your part) will make the process easier. Respect gives the claims adjuster less reason not to trust you. Important points to keep in mind... There are some specific things you should be aware of when dealing with insurance adjusters. Firstly, they have a lot of claims crossing their desk every week. They want to clear their desk fast. This can hurt you as much as it can help you. Because of their heavy workload you will definitely know more about your claim then they will. They'll therefore need time to catch up and ask questions. More importantly, be aware that within certain monetary limits the insurance adjuster has the authority to give you a settlement. When they offer up a settlement you agree with you don’t have to worry about them first checking with a superior. That said, a claim adjuster has limits and most can only settle up to a certain amount. If the claim looks like it will exceed that amount they'll have to pass you to someone who has greater authority. Lastly, you might not always be dealing with insurance adjusters who work directly for the insurance company. For various reasons the company may contract your claim to an independent claim adjuster. In other cases you might end up dealing directly with a lawyer rather than an adjuster. Don’t worry if this happens to you, the way you negotiate won’t be affected. And remember, if negotiations ever get overwhelming you can always decide to hire a lawyer. Return from Dealing With Insurance Adjusters to Personal Injury Settlements Return from Dealing With Insurance Adjusters to the Personal Injury Settlement Guide How Much Is Your Case Worth? Find out NOW! Complete this form for a FREE case review by an experienced attorney... The accuracy of information on this site is not guaranteed. Information on this site is strictly opinion and should not be considered formal legal advice. Under no circumstances should the information on this site be used to make decisions about the proper course of a legal matter. Click below to read our full User Agreement, Disclaimer and Copyright Information.
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