You may need to refute specific points that
the claims adjuster makes in his or her written settlement offer.
Not exact matches
That's an easy, cut and dried
claim to
make, and generally it's pretty obvious to the
adjuster what happened so it's a straightforward
claim to get paid as well.
As long as those criteria are met, the
adjuster will ensure that your
claim is legitimate, possibly investigate the date or time of the loss — your neighbor can likely give you a pretty good idea on this — and
make a decision based on all of the above.
Multiple sides are involved which does not
make the process easier (
claims adjuster, restoration company, builder, etc.).
The
adjuster's job is to
make sure that the
claim is paid fairly under the terms of the policy.
While you're obligated to know generally what's in the policy, and it's your responsibility to have read the policy in full, you do not need to be prepared to tell the
adjuster under which peril you'd like to
make a
claim.
We continue to look very closely, as part of our quality control process to
make sure that the
adjusters are in fact keeping
claims up to date that we are managing them affectively and that we are in fact putting in place an aggressive settlement policy to move these
claims off of our balance sheet.
But once you've
made the
claim, and the
adjuster has done their due diligence, you should be looking at a proposed insurance settlement — a sum of money your insurance provider is willing to pay to fix the unexpected problem.
These representatives are called «
adjusters» and their job is to «adjust» the insurance
claim for damages that is being
made on the insurance policy.
People should not try to handle a motorcycle accident case on their own in Omaha because they lack experience, have never dealt with an insurance
adjuster before, and are not going to know what kind of
claim they should
make.
As long as you
made a timely notification of the accident — and followed up by filing an accident benefit
claim form — the
adjuster can not compel you to sign any further written statement.
The insurance
adjuster responding to your
claim has an obligation to consider all aspects of your
claim when
making decisions.
A
claims adjuster may pressure you into
making a written or recorded statement that could be used against you later.
Personal injury
claims are often strongly contested, and having an effective and knowledgeable attorney can be the difference in actually being
made whole or merely receiving a low settlement offer from the respondent insurance company
adjuster.
Any statements you
make to the
claims adjuster will likely be recorded, so we suggest you simply not speak with such individuals until you have had a chance to speak with a lawyer and recover from your injuries.
Even if Choukas's attorney told the
claims adjuster not to
make an offer unless the insurer would meet his $ 89,000 demand, such settlement tactics did not create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Metropolitan was required to
make an offer.
Additionally, insurance companies spend huge amounts of money to specially train their insurance
adjusters to trick you into
making statements that they can use to deny or reduce your
claim.
When you
make a
claim, an
adjuster will be appointed by your insurance company to determine whether your
claim is fair.
Regarding the statement
made by the
claims adjuster, studies have shown that the vast majority of clients who engage an attorney receive substantially more compensation than the insurance company initially offered them prior to retaining an attorney, even after the attorney's fees are deducted.
Taking too long to get a medical evaluation will also
make it more difficult to link your injuries to your accident, which is another tactic the insurance
adjuster will try to deny or reduce your
claim.
The best way to
make sure that a
claim adjuster does not ruin your opportunity is to avoid talking to them.
The
adjuster may employ tactics to delay your
claim or get you to
make damaging statements about your accident to minimize it.
Remain in frequent contact with your
claims adjuster to encourage him or her to quickly
make a settlement offer.
Our attorneys are here to serve you and
make sure that you are well informed about your case at every level, from negotiating with
claims adjusters to preparing for trial.
Claims adjusters know that police officers
make mistakes and sometimes overlook key evidence at the scene of an accident.
Usually, while a
claim is under investigation, the insurance
adjuster will not authorize any (or very limited) medical care for the injured worker until a decision has been
made.
Once the
claims adjuster has finished investigating your
claim, he or she will
make an initial settlement offer.
In between opening an investigation into your personal injury
claim and
making an initial settlement offer, the
claims adjuster may have interviewed witnesses, studied police reports, reviewed your medical records, and read your demand letter.
You should respond to each of the points
made by the
claims adjuster in a written letter that includes a counteroffer.
An insurance
adjuster is present to
make sure that the monetary
claim is not overblown.
Responsibilities include determining liability, investigating all available insurance coverages,
making sure PIP benefits are paid, negotiating with insurance
adjusters and lawyers, litigating the
claim, and if necessary, trying the case in front a jury.
GEICO is a money -
making machine, and has in its hands a team of insurance
adjusters that are trained in how to trick claimants into accepting FAR less than they deserve for their injury
claims.
The
adjuster and
claims representative assigned to your case will be actively working to minimize or deny your
claim, and they will attempt to get you to
make statements which would
make it difficult — or impossible — to recover the amount you deserve.
This is
made clear when an insurance
adjuster makes a low ball offer or denies a legitimate accident
claim based upon their personal assessment of the accident.
Insurance companies hire investigators and
claims adjusters whose job it is to ensure that claimants aren't exaggerating or
making up damages.
But typically, the next step in the negotiation process is to reject the
claims adjuster's initial offer and
make a counteroffer.
If you
make a mistake during the negotiation process with the
claims adjuster, you can cause irreversible damage to your
claim.
If you call the
claims adjuster before he or she
makes another offer, you will ultimately harm your chances at receiving a fair settlement.
ie, don't have
adjuster x paying more to
claims made by Korean Americans just because their wife is Korean American.
If you and the
claims adjuster have not yet reached a settlement agreement, the
claims adjuster may
make a final settlement offer.
If the
claims adjuster did not
make a fair initial offer, you should reject the offer and
make a counteroffer.
In some rare cases, the
claims adjuster will
make a fair initial settlement offer.
If you
make a personal injury insurance
claim with an insurance company, you must show the
adjuster that his or her insured's negligence was the cause, or at least a partial cause, of your injuries.
Truck Insurance
adjusters are perhaps the most talented yet aggressive
adjusters in the insurance business — and their sole job is to deny any
claim made against the truck that they insure.
After
making a dial - a-
claim report, ICBC often will arrange a face - to - face meeting for you with an
adjuster to review the vehicle damage, obtain a statement on the accident circumstances and address the injury
claim.
Insurance
adjusters often have you
make a recorded statement about the auto accident, and they will use details about it to deny parts of your
claim or
make it «worth less.»
At this point, the
claims adjuster may ask you to
make a recorded statement about the incident.
The problem with this system is that the
adjuster who is providing Part VII coverage may feel that providing that coverage will
make the injury
claim larger or better.
Because the
claims adjuster works for the insurance company you want to
make sure you are honest, but careful with everything you say.
A good attorney could move the
adjuster to
make a more attractive first offer, and a respectable doctor's testimony could add significant value to your personal injury
claim settlement amount.