Know the basics

The first step is filing a claim with your insurance company. You have to do so within the period prescribed by the insurance policy. The settlement process involves evaluating liability and the total damages you have suffered. If the liability is unclear, the defendant’s insurance company gets an opportunity to offer a low settlement amount. They might even be ready to deal with lawsuits in such cases as their motto is to resolve the case with the least amount of money.

It is essential to have evidence backing up your claim that the defendant is liable. Witness testimony and photos of the accident site and damaged car are vital evidence. We advise you to get the help of a car accident attorney, as bearing the burden alone can be overwhelming. While you can file for a settlement on your own, it is crucial to seek an attorney’s advice when it involves severe injuries, permanent disability, multiple parties, and an utterly liable defendant. Such severe instances ensure a higher claim and can get complicated. If the defense party isn’t reasonable, you need to resort to a jury to get total compensation. Therefore, having an attorney is valuable when dealing with unpredictable car accident settlement trials.

The auto accident settlement’s worth

An essential doubt for many people is how much money they should ask for as compensation. The first thing to remember is that it pays for all costs incurred after the accident. Insurance companies often overlook long-term expenses and undervalue your claim’s worth. It is difficult to estimate the total damages without considering certain factors beforehand.

Determining your car accident settlement’s worth depends on the following factors:

The nature and extent of your injury – Your final compensation amount will mostly depend on the severity of your injury. Compared to accident victims who are anticipated to fully recover, individuals who experience life-altering injuries will receive more enormous rewards.

Loss of employment – Recovering from the accident requires time off work. Your lost wages are to be considered while evaluating the claim’s worth. You may also include compensation for lost earning capabilities if your injuries prevented you from working or if you could not do so to the same level as you could before the collision.

Punitive damages – Punitive damages may also be granted where the defendant acts deliberately careless of others’ safety. These damages penalize the negligent party for their carelessness and discourage such behavior in the future.
Age – The victim’s life expectancy determines the settlement’s worth too. The younger you are, the longer your pain and suffering will be.

Property damages – There’s a strong likelihood that the collision caused severe damage to your car. The compensation you should get should be higher the more harm you have sustained.

The victim’s health – It can be disadvantageous if you have illnesses that may have caused the injury rather than the crash itself.

Non-economic damages- Non-economic damages are those that have an impact on your daily life. They might not cost you money, but they negatively affect your life. Even if they are not physical injuries, non-economic losses like pain and suffering influence the victim’s life. Mental anguish, loss of companionship, and loss of reputation are some other forms of non-economic damages. Your settlement is increased if you obtain compensation for non-economic losses.

The answer is more complex if you wonder what the average car accident settlement amounts are. Different sources mention varying amounts. According to the Insurance Information Institute, the average bodily injury claim following an accident in 2020 was $20,235, while the average claim for property damage was $4,711. According to a Martindale-Nolo poll of readers who filed auto accident claims between 2015 and 2020, the average payout was $23,900, with many recipients getting less than $10,000.

These contradictory statistics are because of reasons such as the damages exceeding the defendant’s liability insurance. Another reason might be the type of legal liability system a state follows. In cases when the liability is uncertain, contributory negligence states prohibit a driver from claiming any damages if they had any part in causing the collision. In contrast, pure comparative negligence states allow a driver to collect compensation from another motorist for injuries, even if the driver was primarily at fault. On the other hand, modified comparative negligence states allow a driver to pursue settlement as long as they are not 50% or 51% responsible for the crash. State laws also determine the settlement amount. For instance, in no-fault states, the driver must exhaust their insurance policy before seeking compensation from the other driver. On the other hand, in fault states, the driver who caused the crash will always be fully responsible for losses.

Maximizing the car accident settlement

Dealing with insurance agents (personal or the defendant’s) is frustrating. Insurance companies are often only concerned with their profit and disregard your inconvenience. To gain the upper hand, follow the things below to get your claim’s full worth.

#1 Strengthen your case with evidence

As mentioned above, having solid evidence and witnesses increases the probability of a higher settlement. Some crucial evidence is the police report with details of the accident, the outfit you had on at the time of the accident, the defendant’s insurance company’s contact information, pay stubs of lost wages, opinions of experts such as accident reconstruction specialists, medical bills, and receipts for the maintenance of your car. It would help if you also visited the doctor after the accident to evaluate your injuries. Even if you might not feel any physical pain, there is always a chance that serious medical conditions like traumatic brain injury develop over a few days. To guarantee that it is documented on your records, inform the medical staff of the physical discomfort you feel due to the car accident. Keeping a record of such injuries and the pain you are suffering in a journal and regularly going to the doctor’s appointment protects your physical health and reduces disagreement with the insurers.

#2 Stay off the social media

While resolving your claim, avoid using social media platforms like Instagram. At the very least, you should avoid talking about the incident or sharing pictures. The insurance company may search these websites repeatedly to find support for their claims that you have healed from your injuries or that they are not as severe as you claim.

#3 Do not be hasty

Even if you aren’t at fault, connect with your insurance company immediately after the accident to recover from damages, as there is a timeframe for notifying them. However, do not accept the first offer they give you. They are probably giving a lowball offer to have a quick settlement. Evaluate all future medical and punitive damages before settling on an offer. If you have a lawyer, consult them about the settlement’s worth. Also, avoid giving a recorded statement of the accident or signing any medical forms without consulting an attorney, as it might have clauses that trap you.

#4 Never make these mistakes

Panicking is the downfall of your settlement case. One thing you must never do is flee the site of the collision. It is mandatory to stay at the site in every state except when it’s unsafe. This is considered a crime and implies you are at fault.

Defending against blame or downplaying your injuries can result in lower compensation offers in the future. The insurance company will use it against you if a subsequent remark conflicts with what you told an adjuster earlier. The best action is to request the insurance adjuster’s contact details and interact with them after making a solid case. Don’t use the word “sorry” when speaking to the insurance adjusters, as it can be considered an admission of guilt. Be cautious not to answer all the insurer’s questions at once. After the accident, new information might emerge that you weren’t aware of, and the adjuster can blame you for fabricating the facts. “I am fine” or “I am okay” are prohibited responses when asked about your emotional or physical condition. It can undermine the extent of your injuries. The last thing to remember is to avoid giving a lot of information about your property damage. Additionally, seek an estimate from your auto repair shop rather than the one the insurance adjuster recommends when they inquire about the damages to your car. To sum it up, do not admit fault, deny or describe your injuries, speculate about what happened, and give a recorded statement.

#5 Have a negotiation strategy

Former FBI crisis negotiator Chris Voss says that the secret to gaining the upper hand in any negotiation is to ask, “How am I supposed to do that?” It would be best if you smartly tried to understand the insurers’ strategy through such questions before making your own strategy. Suppose you have a no-fault insurance claim under PIP coverage. In that case, the process is simple as you don’t have to prove the defendant’s liability. Injury claims against the other motorist’s insurance provider might be more difficult. You’ll need to demonstrate that the other motorist was responsible for the collision and your injuries. Ensure that you establish these four elements prior to making a negotiation strategy: duty of care, breach of duty, proximate cause, and damages. Never increase your offer above the adjuster’s; decrease it. The appropriate course of action is to prepare a letter rejecting the low offer and restating your legitimate claims for your demand. Before agreeing on a settlement sum, you and the adjuster will communicate effectively multiple times. Put your agreement’s cost and details in writing as soon as possible. The confirmation can be delivered by email and hard copy via certified mail. Address your letter of affirmation to the adjuster who made the settlement offer you chose to accept. You should get a Settlement and Release Agreement with directions to sign and submit the original document within a week or two after reaching an agreement with the adjuster.

After all the preparations mentioned above, the most crucial step is to put together a demand packet that you will use for negotiating with the insurance adjuster. The official demand letter and an index of all the supporting materials are included in this packet. It would help if you made a well-organized demand packet, neatly assembling the package in a spiral folder. Create two identical packages, one for you and the other for the insurance company.

Tips to handle the insurer

Each month, insurance adjusters handle 100 claims. They are burdened and may not have formal training in medicine or law. So, when a claims adjuster calls, acquire their contact information right away. Have a dialogue that is brief and to the point. The adjuster may now pay closer attention to your case. Remember that adjusters are taught to resolve claims as fast and economically as possible. To achieve this, they use a variety of tactics. They may strategically avoid communication to cause frustration and make you agree to a lowball settlement offer. Additionally, they benefit from the absence of communication. Sometimes the victim gets no communication and concludes that the minimum cash payment or a cheque sent by the insurance provider is the only money they can get back from the claim. Adjusters may also avoid communication in hopes that the statute of limitations will run out and you cannot recover through either the claims process or a lawsuit.

They could also employ bad faith tactics to reduce the possible settlement the insurance company must provide. The insurer may outright reject a personal injury claim within the insurance company’s coverage limitations without providing a valid justification. In other cases, the insurance company may hesitate by neglecting to conduct a thorough investigation of a claim or make a genuine settlement offer. The failure to provide an offer that covers the accident victim’s special damages falls under this category. Insurance fraud can occasionally be more blatant, and the adjuster may purposefully falsify the insurance coverage details—like the size of the policy limits—to reject the insurance claim.

If you face such tactics, first raise the issue directly with the adjuster and try to resolve the problem. However, if they keep mistreating you, contact their supervisor and complain about their misdemeanor. You may also request the insurance company to change the adjuster.

Conclusion

A car accident case may take a few weeks to many months or even years to be resolved. There is a lot to look at on both sides, which might explain why it takes so long to settle if you have severe injuries and property damage. Medical treatment, filing an insurance claim, sending a demand letter, discussing the facts with the defendant, and negotiating can take 6 to 12 months.

Car accidents are terrifying and can alter your life. However, if you follow this article, settling your car accident settlement claim can pass as quickly as a breeze.