Introduction to Negotiation Strategies for Insurance Settlements...

An introduction to negotiation strategies used by claim adjusters should give you an idea of whether or not you're up to the challenge of negotiating your own settlement.

Valuing your injuries is the first step, but putting a dollar figure to your damages can be tricky since so many factors come into play. In reality each case is different.

Some factors that determine the amount of your settlement are:

• medical bills
• out of pocket expenses
• lost wages
• percentage of liability
• verdicts from past injury cases

The negotiation strategies of many injury lawyers include doing a Jury Verdict Search to find out what similar cases in your area have settled for. (Check out www.VerdictSearch.com.)

A broken leg can be valued at $10,000 in your county, but in the county next door it can be valued at $20,000. This is essential information to know when negotiating.

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Most of the time you don't even start negotiating until you're finished with treatment. In most cases damages are determined mainly by the medical costs. If you're still receiving treatment for your injuries then those costs are still rising.

But again, it all depends on your specific injuries. Some cases involve a permanent injury so obviously treatment will continue for years.

Your treatment might go from 3 days a week, down to 2 days a week, and so on until eventually you're only going back 1 day a month. At that point you could probably settle.

However, if you're still getting treatment 3 days a week 1 year later, you can't really settle it at that point. The appropriate timeline for settling your case changes depending upon your injuries and your doctor's recommended course of treament.

But getting extended treatment doesn't mean you can't start an introduction to negotiation with the insurance claims adjuster. You should be constantly building your case while receiving treatment.

(This is one of the main reasons you may want to get a lawyer. If you're laid up, you won't be willing or able to deal with the legwork and negotiations. Your lawyer will do it for you.)

Once you submit your initial settlement offer, in the form of a demand letter, you've given the insurance company an introdution to negotiations.

A VERY SIMPLE example of how injury settlement negotiations work...

Eventually you'll meet somewhere in the middle. Depending upon how long negotiations take (remember, you've got a Statute of Limitations), and your reaction to their offer, you'll either settle or bring it to suit.

If the insurance company says, "No, we won't give you any money," then you've got 2 options: you either bring a lawsuit against them or you get rid of the case.