How to Counter a Low Insurance Settlement Offer State that the offer you received is unacceptable, refute any statement in the adjuster's letter that is inaccurate and detrimental to your claim, re-state an acceptable figure, explain why your counteroffer is appropriate, including the reasons behind your claims for damages. Finally, write a letter as a counteroffer. Start by summarizing the offer you were made. Indicate that the bid is too low and explain why it is too low based on your research.
You may want to consider attaching some documents, such as invoices, as evidence to support your position. Finally, finish by clearly stating the amount for which you will settle the claim. After the first offer from the insurance adjuster in your car accident case, you have every right to respond with your own counteroffer. Once again, you can get the best results by putting your counteroffer and supporting arguments in a detailed car accident lawsuit letter.
When the insurance adjuster makes you a first offer, it can be so low that it's just a tactic to see if you know what you're doing (see below). Or it may be a reasonable offer, too low. If the offer is reasonable, you can immediately make a counteroffer that is slightly lower than the amount of your demand letter. This shows the adjuster that you are also being reasonable and willing to commit.
A little more negotiation should quickly lead you to a final amount of agreement that you both consider fair. When you add the trauma of car accident injuries to your economic costs, a low settlement offer for your claim from the at-fault party's insurance company seems nothing more than an insult. Third, if you and your lawyer haven't already done so, now would be a good time to draft and send a detailed demand letter to the at-fault driver's car insurance company (send it to the attention of the insurance adjuster who made you the first settlement offer). You have every legal right to refuse a bad offer and negotiate a better offer for your personal injury case.
The first thing to know is that after any car accident, the insurance company's first settlement offer is the first of perhaps many. Then, you should write a formal response letter stating that you do not find the initial low settlement offer acceptable, listing the reasons and concluding with a request for a higher settlement offer. Your lawyer will prepare a formal response to the offer, alerting insurers of their decision to reject your offer. Measure what you asked for in your demand letter with what the insurance adjuster has offered, and then you and your lawyer can evaluate if it is a fair offer.
Other factors you may consider adding to your counteroffer may include the limits of the available insurance policy or the personal property of the at-fault party in case the insurance policy limit is not sufficient to pay the value of your injuries. If you have any questions about your initial demand letter or counteroffer letter, contact a knowledgeable and experienced personal injury attorney in your area. The initial offer may be much lower than this figure, as insurance companies are not in business to pay more than they absolutely have to pay for their claims. The second thing to know is that you are absolutely free to decline the offer and in most cases you should probably refuse it, but your lawyer will have advice that suits your situation.
Once you have obtained an accurate figure of your damages, you will need to compare that figure to the value of the insurance company's offer. You (and your lawyer, if you have one) respond with an itemized car injury claim letter that asks for more (sometimes much more) than what the insurer offered. The adjuster will generally make a low offer for your pain and suffering, although similar cases might suggest that a much larger amount is appropriate. .
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