How to Handle Lowball Offers in Personal Injury Claims: Dealing with Insurance Companies –
This video delves into the strategies insurance companies use to minimize payouts on car accidents and other types of personal injury claims, particularly focusing on the issue of lowball offers.
Here’s a summary of the key points discussed:
- 🚨 Recognizing a Lowball Offer: Insurance companies often start with a low offer, hoping you’ll accept it quickly. A lowball offer typically doesn’t cover all your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. If you’re being pressured to settle quickly or the offer seems too low for the severity of your injury, it’s likely a lowball offer.
- ⚖️ Involving an Attorney: The sooner you involve an attorney, the better. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you avoid lowball offers, build a strong case, and negotiate on your behalf. Even if you’ve already received a lowball offer, it’s not too late to hire an attorney to push for a fair settlement.
- 💰 Assessing the Fairness of an Offer: To determine if an offer is fair, calculate all your damages, including medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and any future expenses. Compare this to the offer received. If it doesn’t cover these costs, it’s likely unfair. An attorney can help assess the full value of your claim.
- 🔎 Understanding Insurance Policy Caps: Knowing the cap on the insurance policy can help you determine if the offer is close to the maximum the policy will cover. If the offer is far below the cap, the insurance company might still be lowballing you.
Here’s the transcript:
If you’re dealing with a personal injury claim, you’ve probably already encountered some of the frustrating tactics insurance companies use to minimize your payout. One of the most common tactics is the lowball offer—an offer that’s far less than what your claim is actually worth. Today, we’re going to talk about how to handle those lowball offers, when and why you should involve an attorney, and how to assess whether the offer you’ve received is fair. Plus, we’ll cover how to find out what caps might be on the insurance policy you’re dealing with. So, let’s get started!
Recognizing a Lowball Offer
First, let’s talk about how to recognize a lowball offer. Insurance companies are businesses, and their goal is to pay out as little as possible on claims. A lowball offer is typically the first offer they make, hoping you’ll accept it quickly without question. But how do you know if it’s a lowball offer?
One red flag is if the offer doesn’t cover all your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. If you’re being pressured to settle quickly, or if the amount seems too low compared to the severity of your injury, it’s likely a lowball offer. Remember, insurance companies often rely on the fact that you may be in a difficult financial situation and might be tempted to take the first offer that comes your way. But accepting a lowball offer can leave you with out-of-pocket expenses down the road, especially if your injury requires ongoing treatment.
When to Involve an Attorney
So, when should you involve an attorney? The simple answer is: the sooner, the better. You don’t have to wait until you’ve received a lowball offer to seek legal advice. In fact, involving an attorney from the start can help you avoid lowball offers altogether. An experienced personal injury attorney knows the tactics insurance companies use and can help you build a strong case right from the beginning.
But what if you’ve already received a lowball offer? Is it too late to hire an attorney? Absolutely not! Even if you’ve received an offer, an attorney can step in to negotiate on your behalf. They can assess the offer, calculate the true value of your claim, and push back against the insurance company’s attempts to underpay you. Many times, the mere involvement of an attorney signals to the insurance company that you’re serious about getting the compensation you deserve, which can lead to a more reasonable offer in the first instance.
Assessing Whether an Offer Is Fair
Now let’s talk about how you can assess whether an offer is fair. The first step is to calculate all of your damages. This includes your medical bills (both current and future), lost wages, pain and suffering, and any other expenses related to your injury. Don’t forget to factor in things like ongoing therapy, rehabilitation, or even modifications to your home if your injury has caused long-term disability.
Once you’ve calculated your total damages, compare them to the offer you’ve received. If the offer doesn’t come close to covering these costs, it’s not fair. This is where an attorney can be invaluable. They can use their experience to assess the full value of your claim, including aspects you might not have considered, such as future lost earning potential or the emotional impact of your injury.
Understanding Insurance Policy Caps
Another important factor to consider is the cap on the insurance policy. Insurance policies often have limits on how much they’ll pay out for a claim. Knowing this limit can help you determine whether the offer you’ve received is close to the maximum the policy will cover, or if the insurance company is still trying to lowball you.
So, how do you find out what the policy cap is? First, you can request this information directly from the insurance adjuster handling your case—they’re required to provide this information if you ask. Another way is to review the insurance policy itself, if you have access to it. If the policyholder is someone else (like the person who caused your injury), you may need your attorney’s help to obtain this information.
Understanding the policy limits is crucial because it helps you know what the insurance company is capable of offering. If you’ve reached the cap and it still doesn’t cover your expenses, your attorney can explore other avenues for compensation, such as pursuing a personal injury lawsuit against the responsible party.
Conclusion
Dealing with insurance companies can be stressful, especially when you’re recovering from an injury. But you don’t have to accept a lowball offer. By recognizing the signs, involving an experienced attorney early on, and understanding how to assess an offer’s fairness, you can take control of your personal injury claim and ensure you get the compensation you deserve.
If you’ve received a lowball offer or if you’re unsure about the offer you’ve received, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re here to help North Carolina residents with their claims and fight for the compensation you’re entitled to. Thank you for watching! If you found this video helpful, please like, share, and subscribe to our channel for more tips and advice on handling personal injury claims. And if you need legal assistance, contact us today to schedule a free consultation—we’re here to help you every step of the way.
For more information, contact a car accident attorney at Kellum Law Firm
Additional article resources at our website:
Explore our inside look on car accident injury claims, where we cover everything from the first 24 hours after a car wreck to what happens after you win a settlement. We recommend starting with Part 1 and reading each of the short articles in this series in sequential order:
- Part 1: After a Car Accident: The Critical Steps You Can’t Afford to Miss
- Part 2: Inside an Insurance Claim: How Adjusters Decide What to Pay
- Part 3: How Car Accident Settlements Are Negotiated – The Hidden Factors
- Part 4: Claim Denied? Steps to Appeal and Fight for Your Compensation
- Part 5: You Won Your Car Accident Claim – Now What?
