State Farm Insurance Settlement Question?

Question

I have recently submitted my settlement offer to State Farm for a claim after one of their insured hit me and was at fault. My vehicle has since been repaired - vehicle repairs and rental have been paid by them already. My injuries are healed and therapy is completed after 6 weeks of treatment. I faxed all the papers on Thursday 01-11-2007. How long should I wait for a response before contacting them again?

Has anyone ever had a claim with them in similar situation (you are not their customer)? If so, how did it go?

I am not represented by an attorney...it is not yet necessary. I will wait and see how they respond to my settlement offer.

I am in posession of all medical records AND doctor's notes with final report. I let the adjuster know this. By the way...you are entitled by LAW to get compensated for pain & suffering by them...you should know that as an agent...shouldn't you?

I was sideswiped by a driver who ran a red light at an intersection.
Property damage - $7,300.00
Rental - $2,600.00
Loss of wages - $1,640.00
Doctor Bills - $1,100.00
Total disability - 9 days
Partial disability - 30 days
Length of therapy - 6 weeks
Injuries:
Bruises on lower back, contusion in left shoulder, neck & back sprain, light concussion.

Answer 1

I do not work for State Farm; I work for a competitor that handles these types of claims but the procedure is the same industry wide. As you have not provided what injuries you sustained as a result of the accident, and I do not know what type of accident this was or how much your property damage was, my answer is provided in general terms only. By the way, they are only required to compensate for injuries that are 1) valid and 2) a result of the accident. I deny injury claims daily.

Lump sum settlements for injuries consist of BOTH economic and non economic damages, or monetary and non-monetary damages. To determine what your damages are a review of the medical records is conducted.

We (they) are looking for a diagnosis, pre-existing conditions, hereditary/degenerative changes, who you treated with, how long you treated, what type of treatment was provided, if there were any "gaps" in treatment, if there were any delays in you seeking treatment, if you "doctor shopped," if you were rendered disabled for any period of time, if you suffered a wage loss, mechanism for injury. This is only a handful of things we look for and look at, there are many other variables to take into consideration. Once the records have been evaluated, we determine an appropriate offer.

If you have made an offer to State Farm, they will either 1) accept the offer or 2) make a counter offer. If you HAVE NOT made an offer to them...pick a number out of the air and tell them what it is....heck, ask for their policy limits (although they may or may not be able to release that info to you). Again, they will either agree or disagree and counter. The important thing to remember is this: they want to settle the claim just as much as you do. Keep the lines of communication open and keep a cool head, yelling/threatening/being unreasonable doesn't help. Listen to their counter offers and the explanation behind it. They (we) have a range to work within. You'll know when you've hit their high end when they don't budge.

As for how long should you wait before u contact them? Today, tomorrow, whenever you have a chance. Give them to the end of the week. If they are in need of additional information regarding your treatment they will let you know. Although they may be able to obtain the info themselves (assuming you signed a medical/wage authorization form) that takes time and if you are able to send the information direct that will expedite things. Additionally, if they say something like, "based upon what I have here I see a value of $X, is there something we're missing?" give it to them--if they have questions, answer. For example, I just settled a claim where a guy had a testicular bruise. He wanted $15K. He had 1 visit to the doctor and continued to play sports and have sexual relations and I only got these answers by asking the right questions. Apparently it didn't hurt that much by his own admission and behavior--he settled for $6K, $2500 of which went to pay his doctors for bills he hadn't paid.

Whether you have an attorney or not, if you submit a "demand" to them to settle your injury claim, they have to respond to it. In NV we have 20 days--depending on your state determines the time frame they have to respond to. I would just give them a call and get it over with.

Answer 2

State Farm Insurance Forms

Answer 3

State Farm Injury Claim

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
State Farm Insurance Settlement Question?
I have recently submitted my settlement offer to State Farm for a claim after one of their insured hit me and was at fault. My vehicle has since been repaired - vehicle repairs and rental have been paid by them already. My injuries are healed and therapy is completed after 6 weeks of treatment. ...

Answer 5

Some People Only Care If There Going To Get There Money.Iam Not Saying Its You. Iam Saying Its Insurance Companys. Iam On Medical Assitantance. There Are Places That Wont It. Because They Think They Wont Get There Money.

Answer 6

You should certainly recover your medical expenses and repairs to your damaged car, car rental while repairs are made, and any other out of pocket expenses that you would not have had except for the accident. You will be made whole; put back in a position no better or worse than you were just prior to the accident happening. It would be unusual to see any pain and suffering offered unless the injuries were severe or caused life-long problems. If they don't offer anything for this in their settlement offer but the rest of the deal will cover your costs, you could counter asking for some small amount for pain/suffering and they may go with that just to be done with it.

Answer 7

Well, they have NO OBLIGATION to settle the claim for you, just keep that in mind - their good faith duty is ONLY to their client.

Having said that, you'll probaby get a letter within a week or so. They shouldn't balk too much at paying reasonable medical expenses, but if you're asking for any pain and suffering, they'll probably request a medical release form, so they can request copies of all your medical records/bills THEMSELVES, directly from the medical providers. They ALSO might request prior health records.

It usually takes months to get the records in from the health providers, and reviewed. And again, they have no obligation to settle. So I'd expect to hear something right away, then just put it on the back burner 30 days at a time. It all depends on what you want, how badly the vehicle was damaged, and what your medical information tells them.

Answer 8

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RE :State Farm Insurance Settlement Question?
I have recently submitted my settlement offer to State Farm for a claim after one of their insured hit me and was at fault. My vehicle has since been repaired - vehicle repairs and rental have been paid by them already. My injuries are healed and therapy is completed after 6 weeks of treatment. I faxed all the papers on Thursday 01-11-2007. How long should I wait for a response before contacting them again?
Update: Has anyone ever had a claim with them in similar situation (you are not their customer)? If so, how did it go?
Update 2: I am not represented by an attorney...it is not yet necessary. I will wait and see how they respond to my settlement offer.
Update 3: I am in posession of all medical records AND doctor's notes with final report. I let the adjuster know this. By the way...you are entitled by LAW to get compensated for pain & suffering by them...you should know that as an agent...shouldn't you?
Update 4: I was sideswiped by a driver who ran a red light at an intersection.
Property damage - $7,300.00
Rental - $2,600.00
Loss of wages - $1,640.00
Doctor Bills - $1,100.00
Total disability - 9 days
Partial disability - 30 days
Length of therapy - 6 weeks
Injuries:
Bruises on lower back, contusion in left shoulder, neck & back sprain, light concussion.
Follow 14 answers

Answer 9

At least 2 weeks. People aren't machines! Takes time to process claims. Just how it is. Be patient, you might hear a response quicker.

Answer 10

Give it til this week. If you're wondering why they have not called pick up the phone and get in touch with them. Remember it was a holiday weekend. Good luck!