should you settle with an insurance company after an accident?

Question

Is it wise to take the first offer? If not what steps do you take?

Answer 1

A car accident? Were there any injuries? Document everything, if there were injuries, check out the book by Nolo Press--actually, check them all out, they are self-help legal guides written in plain english. I used their book for my own personal bodily injury accident about 10 years ago.

And if there weren't any injuries, as long as the adjuster is being reasonable, I would be reasonable in return. I did, however, double a settlement offered to me when I was a passenger in a vehicle hit by a tuned-out teenager who wasn't wearing his glasses. That adjuster for his insurance company was so bad I reported them to the regulating agency for insurance companies.

Answer 2

You go to the doctor, but only as necessary.
Stay off work if you have to

Keep a file with good records on everything, exenses, lost wages, mileage to the doctor.

Make a daily diary of your injury, your limitations, your pain, the things you can't do, the things you have to pay others to do, even if you can't fulfil your duties as a spouse. These things help you and the insurance person get a handle on your "pain and suffering" and the extent of your disability.

Find out the "statute of limitations" for injuries in your state. That is the maximum amount of time you have to make an injury claim before your rights expire. You must settle before then.

When you are ready, ask for a settlement and if you can't reach a reasonable settlement when you are ready, then you can always go to an attorney. Take your file with you and your attorney will be very happy.

But remember the attorney gets a nice chunk of whatever you get, and sometimes it's less than you would have received in the first place. I handled claims for twenty years and the attorneys always made the process much, much slower because they had too much to do.

Answer 3

It depends on how badly you might be hurt and how much damage they caused.
You shouldn't necessarily take the first offer, but don't be unreasonable.
If you negotiate directly with the insurer, you are firm, fair and not unreasonable you will get a great deal. And, if you don't use a lawyer, you'll not only get your money right away, but you'll also not have to fork over 40% of the cut to the lawyer.

A study by an insurance group found that people who didn't use attorneys got slighly more money but they got it more than a year faster than those who did use a lawyer.

Again, don't let them lowball you, but don't also shoot for the moon when its not warranted. Any insurer that sees you are being fair will likely strongly consider paying what you ask.

Answer 4

I am currently going through this process.... but look carefully over what your expenses are
medical- veh- travel- food (if there was a hospital stay or follow up visits to docs)
i would not say to accept the first offer unless it covers all these expenses plus any disability loss
also what about future related medical care?
coverage for this is important because it is very possible that your medical ins wont cover the charges as "pre existing conditions" they have access to the fact that you had an auto ins company "looking at" your records because of an "accident"
if the offer is low-- in writing ask them to itemize their figure explaining why they made that offer....helps you to pick it apart---
lists -receipts- and paper is your friend...put everything in writing
good luck

Answer 5

Depends on the accident, whose fault it was, if you were injured in the process, how much it will cost to fix you vehicle. First go get an estimate of what it will cost to get you car fixed. Based off of that, see if the settlement they other party offers is enough to cover the damages and if not ask for more through your insurance agent.

Answer 6

No you wait and see if you are hurt. like going to the doctor because of pain in your back, neck, you hold out and you can get more money in the long run.