How do insurance adjusters convince injury claimants to settle for less than they deserve?

Insurance adjusters handle claims every day, and they are extremely skilled at convincing claimants to accept a lowball settlement offer. The less they pay out in claims, the more money the insurance company gets to keep. Most claimants are inexperienced at negotiating injury claim settlements, and are likely to settle for less than they should.

Insurance Adjuster Tactics

Insurance adjusters use a number of tricks to minimize settlement payouts, including:uninsured-underinsured-motorist-coverage-and-your-houston-tx-wreckInsurance adjusters use a number of tricks to minimize settlement payouts, including:

• Proposing a quick settlement. An adjuster will often offer an immediate payout in exchange for a full release. This may seem like an easy resolution to your insurance claim, but accepting that payment means that you can’t recover for any injuries you discover later on.
• Misrepresenting insurance coverage. Insurance adjusters will sometimes claim that the party responsible for the collision only has the minimum required liability coverage. However, there are often more types of coverage available than the adjuster is willing to admit.
• Requesting a recorded statement. Adjusters know how to get accident victims to make statements that may later be used against them. They will even sometimes imply that the law requires the victim to make a statement, but this simply isn’t true.
• Delaying payment. Accident victims often experience serious financial problems due to mounting medical bills and time away from work. Insurance adjusters know this, and they will sometimes delay the processing of a claim until the injured party settles out of desperation.
• Imposing arbitrary deadlines. The adjuster may claim that his settlement offer must be accepted by a certain date. This date is completely arbitrary, and it is intended to scare the accident victim into accepting a lowball offer.

You Need an Attorney

If you’ve never picked up a basketball before, you’re probably not going to win if you challenge an NBA superstar to a game. When it comes to paying as little as possible to satisfy claims, insurance adjusters are superstars. You need an experienced legal professional on your side to ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve. To discuss your claim, contact the law offices of Steve M. Lee, P.C., by using the form on this page.