How To Negotiate With An Insurance Claim Adjuster

Negotiating a settlement can be frustrating, especially if you don’t understand the rules of engagement when dealing with an insurance claim.

Although negotiating with an adjuster can be somewhat intimidating at first, recognizing your claim’s value and having the essential documentation will give you the tools to negotiate with confidence. Here’s how to negotiate with an insurance adjuster.

Be Prepared

An adjuster will obviously be fully prepared before starting any negotiation over your claim. Therefore, you should also be prepared with as much information as possible.

Before agreeing to talk to the adjuster, it’s advisable you gather the necessary records, bills, appraisals, and any other relevant documents. You should also have an idea of the total figure of damages, so ensure you sum everything up before conversing with the adjuster.

Don’t Take the First Offer

An insurance adjuster may make a very low offer just to establish whether you know what you’re doing. The offer may also be reasonable though too low.

In the event that the offer is reasonable, you can make a counteroffer immediately that’s somewhat lower than the demand letter amount. This reveals to the adjuster that you too are ready to compromise besides being reasonable.

Bear in mind that some more bargaining should get you to a final settlement that seems fair to you both. Always demonstrate that you’re willing to settle in good faith and that you understand the procedure.

The first rule of negotiating is never decrease your demand until a counter-offer originates from the adjuster.

In the event that you decrease your demand once or twice throughout one negotiation contact (whether over a telephone conversation or in person) without a counter-offer from the adjuster, you’ve revealed that your original demand is weak.

Once you decrease your demand, wait until the insurance adjuster issues a counter-offer before lowering your demand the second time.

Remember, a negotiation resembles the sale of a vehicle or other property. In this case, you ask for more initially than you’re willing to accept and the prospective buyer offers less than he or she’s willing to pay. After negotiating, you settle somewhere in the middle, making both of you feel as though you obtained a good deal.

Avoid Rushing

Claims adjusters tend to be busy people with several cases to handle and their role expects them to settle the cases fast before proceeding to other issues. Furthermore, insurance firms have realized that moving quickly is the best means of getting injured parties to settle for a low amount.

Beware that several adjusters will try and pressure victims into settlement in order to settle things fast. You must try to resist the push and wait for the arrival of your bills, particularly medical.

If you believe you may require future treatment or surgery, never agree to settle until you’ve dealt with it fully.

Remember, once you’ve signed an agreement you can’t reopen negotiations to handle future medical issues. Therefore, it’s important you wait until you have the final bills before settling. However, you should be watchful of the statute of limitations-the period after an incident that you can bring a lawsuit.

You won’t be able to file a lawsuit or settle a claim after the statute expires. In the event that you’re uncertain about the duration of the statute, contact a knowledgeable lawyer.

Highlight Emotional Points

Don’t restate the facts in the negotiations. Rather, highlight the points that favor you. For instance, emphasize how the insured party was at fault and how you suffered a painful injury.

While there’s no way of putting a price tag on emotional factors, they can be effective in getting an insurance firm to settle a claim.

Final Thoughts

Negotiating is possibly the most challenging and involving activity to most when it comes to settling claims. Bear in mind that the process takes time, so exercise patience and always obtain a professional opinion.

---