If you decide that you want to try to settle your case by yourself, that is your
absolute right. Most people understand that the insurance adjuster you are going against has one major advantage over you. Experience. Insurance adjusters handle hundreds, if not thousands, of cases over the course of their work. They know every trick possible to get you to settle your case for the lowest possible amount. In many ways it is like playing the casino or lottery odds – namely, the odds are stacked against you.
However, if you do decide to go it alone, at least try to use these 3 ideas to get the most $$ for your case.
1. BE WILLING TO WAIT. IN MANY WAYS THIS IS THE HARDEST OF ALL BECAUSE YOU WANT TO GET CLOSURE OF YOUR CLAIM. More importantly, you naturally want to get your $$ for the injuries you sustained. However, the insurance company is in no hurry to settle your case and they are going to use this fact to their advantage. How will they do this? Often they play the waiting game. The insurance company tells you they want to settle your case. However, you have to give them more and more authorizations. They are using those authorizations that you give them not to help you but rather as a basis for lowering the offer they make in your claim. They will pore through all of the records that they receive from these authorizations and then use any negative document against you in the negotiations. Maybe you have a back injury from an auto accident that you are dealing with. Maybe you also treated for your back injury a year before the current auto accident case. You can be sure they will bring this up and try to imply or actually say your current injuries are from this prior mishap. Then they make you an offer, often times worth about half of what the true value of the case is, and then sit and wait. They know that you want and need the $$ now, so they do nothing. Often times when you are doing this alone, you eventually give in and settle for their so-called top offer. This might be about half of what the real value of your case is, or less.
To get the most value for your case, you must be willing to wait and let them come to you with a higher offer. Remember, that generally speaking, you have 2 years from the date of the accident to settle your case in Pennsylvania. If you are not in a hurry to settle your case, you will come out way ahead of someone who wants to get the $$ now.
To be continued tomorrow with part 2…..
Thanks for reading.
Bernie the attorney
