Typically, it takes a little back and forth to be able to get a reasonable settlement offer from an insurance company after you’ve been injured in an accident. So what do you do if the first offer you received was simply unfair?
First, it’s important to know exactly what constitutes a fair offer for your claim. You should know the dollar value of your claim and the coverage limits your insurance policy (or the other party’s policy) has. You are typically able to recover damages for property damage, lost wages and medical bills. However, because Florida is a no-fault state, you might not be able to get non-economic damages — at least to the extent that accident victims in other states can.
If you decide to reject your first settlement offer, you will then begin to negotiate the claim with an insurance adjuster, using your medical bills and other facts and documents to support your case. You will want to keep tabs of everything in writing and always keep in mind that you must be realistic and reasonable with your own counter-offers.
Most of the power in these negotiations lies with the insurance company. In most cases, the company is willing to listen to negotiations and pay out more if you can make a reasonable case to do so, but you cannot expect the company to want to play ball with you if you make unreasonable requests.
As a general rule of thumb, you should work with a personal injury attorney to negotiate a claim. This is especially true if your case is complicated or if you had a particularly serious accident that resulted in significant injuries and/or property damage. To learn more about your options, speak with an experienced Bradenton injury attorney at Goldman, Babboni, Fernandez, Murphy & Walsh.