How to Negotiate a Bigger Car Accident Settlement
When you’re injured in a car accident, getting the biggest settlement possible is essential. You need to understand how the insurance company negotiates and the best ways to increase the settlement amount you’re owed. You can successfully negotiate for a bigger car accident settlement, with or without the help of an attorney, if you know how to prepare and fight for the payout you deserve.
The Art of Settlement Negotiation
You will likely have to negotiate with the insurance company to reach a reasonable settlement. Negotiation is important in allowing two sides to reach a favorable conclusion.
You must be prepared for the process, as the proper documentation will help you feel confident in defending your position. Understanding the complex process can also mean having a lawyer assist you. Overall, negotiating a car accident settlement comes down to showing the insurance company your side of the story accurately with evidence.
Know Your Claim’s Worth
You must value your claim accurately when you want to recover a bigger settlement. This allows you to negotiate effectively and shows you have done the work to understand your claim. Gather supporting documentation and do some calculations to get the most accurate picture of compensation value. See what similar cases have been settled in your state recently. Speak to a local attorney and ask how much they think your claim could be worth. You can also get a second opinion from another lawyer, as most of them give free consultations.
Documentation
When you negotiate a settlement, gather all the documentation related to your claim. Documentation provides the basis of your argument, and a proper, evidence-based claim is easier to negotiate with. You need to keep everything! This includes:
- Medical diagnosis
- Treatment plan
- Police accident report
- Any witness statements
- Receipts for treatment, over-the-counter medications, therapy, etc.
- Psychiatric treatment records
- Property damage assessment
- Any videos or photos of the accident or the scene afterward
- Proof of current and future lost wages
- Treatment or PT records
Any document proving you deserve a bigger settlement leaves little room for a denial by insurance. Plus, calculating a fair value for the settlement hinges upon accurate records showing the accident’s impact.
Accurate Determination of Settlement Value
Any car accident settlement is meant to restore you to the state you were in before the accident occurred. The at-fault party’s insurance company is legally required to pay the victim’s damages. Calculate the value of your accident by adding up your economic and non-economic damages. These include:
- Doctor’s visits
- Physical therapy
- Over-the-counter medications
- Medical Imaging (CT and MRI scans, X-rays, Ultrasounds, etc.)
- Lost wages due to recovery and medical treatment
- Loss of quality of life
- Cost of future medical bills
- Future lost wages due to loss of capacity
- Mental health costs
- Loss of companionship
- Pain and suffering
Once all the costs are determined, many insurance companies will use a multiplier to account for a person’s pain and suffering. This technique takes the total and multiplies it by a number based on the accident’s impact on daily life, increasing the amount of the settlement.
Adequately presenting the evidence will support your argument, furthering your ability to negotiate and defend the amount you ask for.
Know Your Numbers
Calculating these numbers helps set realistic expectations for negotiating a bigger car accident settlement. You need to have a goal amount that you think your claim would be worth if you took it to a jury. Be realistic about the negotiation process and set a number with the lowest acceptable amount, creating a range to assist in your negotiation.
How Much is Your Car Accident Settlement Worth?
Why You Need to Write a Demand Letter
Summarize the events of the car accident, including the period directly before the accident and its aftermath. Explain any injuries and subsequent treatments, and outline other significant facts about your situation.
- Present the evidence. This is documentation you have prepared as evidence that shows the other driver was at fault and that there is a need for the compensation requested. Be as comprehensive as possible and leave little room to deny the amount you request.
- Explain why the amount is logical. This is where you summarize validity, show how the evidence shows what you deserve, and explain why the insurance company should pay you the amount you are asking for.
- This letter sets you up for continuing negotiations with the insurance company after the car accident. Remember, they don’t have to pay you the amount you ask for, but they are required to pay you, and they will try to spend as little as possible. With proper preparation and the correct information, you can set yourself up for success, increasing your odds of negotiating your way to a bigger settlement for your car accident.
Insurance companies see this letter as the beginning of the negotiation process, so it’s critical to outline your case clearly and provide copious details needed to secure it.
Effective Negotiation Strategies
Once your demand letter is sent, the real negotiation begins. There are different ways of approaching this, but several strategies are most successful during negotiation.
Asking for More Than You Want
Sometimes, asking for 20 to 25 percent more than your goal amount can be a valuable tactic. It is typical for the insurance adjuster to counter an initial demand with a lower number. This way, you can get closer to the number you want faster, and the process won’t take as long.
Timing is Important
When you present your case to the insurance company, you can influence a settlement with appropriate timing. Waiting until medical treatment and all the costs related to the car accident are finalized helps get a bigger settlement. When all the costs are known, the evidence will clearly show the amount you deserve, and larger amounts are likely.
Known as maximum medical improvement (MMI), it defines the moment where you are either fully recovered from any injuries or are at the point where you have recovered as much as you can. The doctor then gives a final prognosis and discusses future medical needs.
Insurance companies typically try to settle the case before the victim reaches MMI, reducing the claim for future medical services and resulting expenses.
Use Your Documentation to Find Leverage
There is a reason the documented evidence of your claim is so vital. Undeniable evidence can give you the upper hand during negotiations by allowing you to use it as leverage with the insurance company.
Going into the negotiations prepared to use all the tools available will ultimately help you make more money in settlement negotiations.
Overcoming Common Negotiation Challenges
An insurer will use several tactics during negotiations. Once you submit a demand letter, the negotiation has begun. You must carefully navigate their strategies, as there is only one chance to accept a settlement. Once this is done, you cannot claim any more money for compensation from the accident.
What Happens if Your Demand Letter is Denied?
An insurance company can reply to a demand letter with a counteroffer or decline to pay the amount. When a counteroffer is extended, consider it carefully, possibly with the assistance of an attorney, and then choose to decline, accept, or counter the offer with another.
If the demand letter is declined, you have a right to understand why. Ask the company for the reason in writing. You can use this to restructure your demands, strengthen your case, and resubmit a new demand with these in mind. This also keeps the insurance company honest in their actions.
Insurance Tactics
Another thing to be aware of is the types of tactics that the insurance company is liable to use to get you to settle for a smaller amount. Insurance tactics include strategies like:
- Insurance may minimize your injuries by saying you are not hurt as extensively as stated or that the injury is related to a condition not caused by the car accident. Comprehensive medical documentation will refute these claims.
- Send lowball offers to get you to concede a lower amount after the accident. Being patient and persistent when dealing with insurance will ensure you never get less than you need.
- Stall for time and try to get you to accept whatever they offer. Don’t let them fool you; they are obligated to pay, but you don’t have to take an offer if it isn’t fair and reasonable, so hold out when you need to.
- Leverage expiring offers to pressure your acceptance. Negotiating for bigger car accident settlement amounts means resisting this pressure.
When to Consider Legal Assistance
When negotiating a car accident settlement, knowing how to deal with the insurance company after a car accident sometimes means knowing when to retain an attorney. The negotiation process can be too complex and intricate to handle alone, so here are several ways an attorney can assist you:
- An attorney’s understanding of the law and its application to your claim
- Effective negotiation tactics
- Investigative experience and resources
- Knowledge of how insurance companies operate
- Litigation experience (especially if negotiation fails and you go to trial)
- Understanding how to leverage evidence in your favor
Choose an attorney with a history of success. A lawyer or firm with a track record of winning jury trials is a plus, too, because insurance companies will see them as a credible threat to actually file a lawsuit.
Attorneys often offer free consultations, so you can look around for the lawyer you feel most comfortable with. An attorney can be a great choice for anyone who doesn’t feel entirely comfortable negotiating a car accident settlement alone.
Closing Your Settlement with Confidence
Knowing when to accept a settlement can be tricky. Make sure to request a fair and reasonable amount, that your evidence supports your claim, and you are patient throughout the process to get a larger amount through a settlement negotiation.
Negotiating for a bigger car accident settlement helps you get what you deserve and does not leave you out in the cold with unpaid bills.