Negotiating Without A Lawyer

Negotiating Without A Lawyer

It is essential to hire an attorney after an accident as it gets overwhelming for the victim to deal with the aftermath of an accident. It is also crucial to file a claim with the insurance company. Although filing a claim may allow you to seek compensation for your damages, the claim filing process is often frustrating. Dealing with insurance companies and their agents can be intimidating, especially for people who are unfamiliar with the claim filing process.

After filing a claim with an insurance company, it will be assigned to an insurance claims adjuster. The adjuster is accountable for conducting a majority of the work required to prepare your claim. Thus, it is the adjuster’s job to make a contract and communicate with you during the whole process. In other words, the claims adjuster is the person you will be dealing with in settling your claim.

In most cases, the adjuster’s first task will be to decide whether your loss or injuries are covered by your policy or the at-fault party’s policy. If coverage is found, the adjuster will proceed to examine the details of your claim. This inquiry phase of the claim filing process can take some time, and will likely involve the adjuster taking steps such as:

  • Conducting interviews with all the parties involved in the accident.
  • Interviewing the witnesses of the accident.
  • Inspecting the injuries or the damaged property.
  • Evaluating the medical reports.
  • Taking photographs.
  • Gathering all the important information.

Negotiating against big insurance companies that have years of experience in handling and settling claims can be an intimidating task even for a seasoned negotiator. In most cases, applicants have little to no experience negotiating claim adjustments with their insurance company or claims adjuster. Luckily, you do not have to negotiate alone. A lawyer who understands the claim filing and claim settlement process can help. Personal injury lawyers with this type of experience may protect inexperienced claimants from insurance companies and offer protection from bad faith practices.

For instance, during the discussion and investigation phase of the claim filing process, an insurance company may trick a claimant into admitting fault for all or part of the car accident. An unwitting claimant who admits to fault may decrease or destroy the value of his or her claim. A lawyer can guide an applicant throughout this process, thus protecting the claimant from making any unnecessary statements that could hurt the value of the claim.

A personal injury lawyer like Bert McDowell can also deal with insurance companies and claims adjusters by negotiating the compensation amount. In several cases, the claims adjuster’s initial settlement offer will be less than the claim’s actual value. A claimant who is unfamiliar with claim negotiation may accept this initial offer without even considering the possibility of negotiating a more favorable claim settlement amount. Even if the applicant did want to negotiate, he or she may not even know where to start. A personal injury lawyer can act on the claimant’s account by negotiating a more favorable dollar amount for the claimant. During this process, the lawyer will use careful negotiation tactics and use crucial evidence in an attempt to reach a more favorable compensation amount.

Bring on Bert!