Negotiation Article: How to Negotiate a Settlement...

We'll take a much closer look at how to negotiate a settlement in a different negotiation article. For now we're just going to give a quick overview since your understanding of negotiation styles will effect the initial steps in your injury claim.

Like much of what has already been said about the personal injury settlement process, your negotiations begin the moment the accident happens.

Assuming you aren't making outrageous injury settlement demands then the ease of insurance negotiations will depend on how strong you can make your case.

For this reason you must do your best to document and keep track of everything that happened at the scene of the accident.

Learning how to negotiate a settlement effectively involves learning how to prove the other party's negligence.

The more evidence you have showing the insured party's negligence (and clearing you of negligence) the harder it will be for the adjuster to lower your settlement demand.

Whenever possible take accident pictures. Talk to witnesses and make sure you can contact them later on. For no reason should you admit to any wrongdoing when making a statement for the police accident report.

Follow that last rule within reason of course because sometimes there are things you just have to tell.

The next step we'll cover in this negotiation article is documentation...

Collect all documents that confirm your damages. Keep them organized both on paper, in folders and in your head. The easier you can refer to them in phone conversations the better.

You will also refer to your documented damages in your demand letter when building up to the dollar figure you want.

Tip: Inflate that dollar figure.

Don't do it grotesquely but make it somewhat higher than what your ideal settlement will be. This will require you to place a higher value on your pain and suffering as well as on the punitive damages if you feel they apply.

From there the insurance negotiations will likely consist of a few phone calls to and from the claims adjuster. If your negotiation style has worked up until this point and you've left little question about liability, the adjuster will offer you a settlement - but the sum will almost definitely be smaller then the one in your demand letter.

You'll probably take time to think about it and then counter with another number. This will be smaller than your first but, of course, larger than theirs. Handling the back-and-forth between you and the adjuster well is the cornerstone of how to negotiate a settlement agreement.

Ideally this will go on for no more than a couple of phone calls and then they will agree to settle. In most situations that's exactly what will happen.

If you follow the basic strategies outlined in this negotiation article and present a strong case, you should receive a fair personal injury insurance settlement relatively quickly.