Is It A Good Idea To Accept The First Settlement Offer From The Insurance Company?
When you get in touch with the insurance company for a car accident you had, they will assess the situation and provide you with an offer. Now the question is, should you consider accepting that offer or is that one not the best offer they can provide? It’s important to know all this info, as you might end up getting a better offer in the end, if you don’t just rush this process.
Insurance companies rush to make a quick offer
It’s always very important to talk with your Fayetteville Car Accident Lawyer and ensure that you know how to handle the insurance company situation. You can also leave the lawyer to represent you in front of the insurance company. Lawyers have knowledge and expertise when it comes to dealing with this kind of stuff. And it’s very important to make sure that you have a reliable professional when these discussions take place.
A lot of the time, insurance companies rush because they want to save money and also avoid any legal action. Plus, due to the situation at hand and people needing to cover medical bills or lost income, they might end up accepting any money they receive. That’s what a lot of insurance companies focus on, and many times, it will end up being the solution that people go for.
What does their first offer cover?
It depends on the insurance company, as you imagine. But a lot of the time, they focus on covering the visible, rather immediate costs. These can be things like emergency room bills, vehicle repairs and stuff like that. They won’t cover future medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, any emotional distress or long-term rehab. Instead, their focus is on covering any immediate costs, and that’s certainly a thing you have to take into consideration.
Evaluating the offer
It’s important to not rush and take any offer you receive. A lot of the time, these offers are rushed and they might not help you as much as you want. Review the medical records, calculate your total losses and talk with the lawyer.
What factors affect the settlement value?
There are different factors that will affect the settlement value. For example, fault determination is a major factor, and then we have the severity of injuries. On top of that, the insurance policy limits, along with lost income or length of recovery will affect that as well. If you don’t have professional help, it can be difficult to figure out how much money are indeed required from the insurance company. Addressing these issues might seem hard to do at first, but it’s always important to have an expert that assists you here.
What happens if you reject the first offer?
Generally, rejecting the offer won’t end the claim. Instead, what it does is it starts the negotiation process. You can submit a counter offer, and the offer will be supported by the documents you have. On top of that, the adjuster will review it and they could increase the offer. Naturally, the process will continue until both sides will agree or a lawsuit needs to be filed.
Documentation matters here because you do want to support your claims as much as you can. Medical records and bills, photos of injuries, witness statements, the police report copy, pay stubs showing lost wages, all of these are great pieces of evidence. Having them will definitely help increase the offer you can receive, and that’s something you need to keep in mind.
Make sure that you have legal representation
Having a lawyer is crucial during these processes, as he can help you calculate the necessary compensation. The Fayetteville Car Accident Lawyer can also help handle negotiations, not to mention he can file suit if needed and prevent you from signing away your rights by mistake. Lawyers also tend to work on a contingency basis. That means there’s no upfront cost for you if you want to hire them. Instead, they will only get paid if you win, so it’s very important for them to win. They are motivated to win, as that’s the only way they will get paid, so hiring a lawyer is a very good idea.
Signing too soon comes with all kinds of risks. For example, the claim gets closed forever, and it doesn’t matter if you discover new injuries or if your condition gets worse. You agreed to those terms, you got paid, so the insurance company won’t have anything to deal with. The claim can’t be reopened once you accept any amount of money from the insurance company. And that’s why you always want to have the right representation from a legal professional. As you do that, you can avoid any issues and it will make the process much easier to manage.
