The insurer creates a file for every submitted injury claim, and gives that same file to one of the company’s adjusters. It is then the adjuster’s job to gather the facts on the case, and to negotiate a settlement.
How adjusters start their investigations
Each of them starts by going after the story, as told by the driver, assuming that the same driver had purchased a car insurance policy from the company that had hired the head of the investigation (the selected adjuster).
Going after the story means seeking supplementary material, as well, such as the police report. It also means reading any reports that other drivers have filed with the proper DMV.
The adjusters’ next step, regardless of the details in the reported story, involves respecting the need for a waiting period. Each of them must wait to see whether or not the motorist with the damaged vehicle, and perhaps an injury, will elect to submit a personal injury claim. Sometimes someone with a minor injury submits a claim; sometimes, a driver might focus on damage to the vehicle, and discount any chances that one of the vehicle’s occupants was injured.
Negotiations follow the waiting period
An adjuster’s wait ends when he or she receives a demand letter, as per personal injury lawyer in Mississauga. The adjuster responds by telling the letter’s writer about the limits on the terms of the policy that the insurance company has sold to the allegedly responsible motorist.
Adjusters also check their company’s database, in order to learn about any other claims that the same claimant might have been made earlier.
Adjusters’ lists of tasks to be completed never lack a reference to one particular job. That is a job that concerns searching for more useful information
—A recorded statement from the claimant
—Permission to view all of the claimant’s medical records.
How do the negotiations get started?
The adjuster studies the facts obtained during the investigation. The adjuster’s examination of those facts should allow him or her to estimate the value of the claimant’s case. Most adjusters present their estimated value to their supervisor, before moving forward with the next action.
Eventually, the adjuster presents the claimant with an opening offer. That action represents the start of efforts to negotiate a settlement. That same offer could be close to the estimated value. Alternately, it could be a low-ball offer.
Some of the adjusters’ offers are unreasonably low. That tactic could be used, in order to gage a claimant’s awareness of the case’s true value. Some claimants, usually those that have failed to hire a personal injury lawyer, are so desperate for financial help that they agree to accept the unreasonably low, and the so-called low-ball offer.
