5 Keys to Negotiating Your Car Accident Claims

A lot of people realize it is extremely hard to negotiate their car accident injury claims. The main reason is that you are working against a tough and well-trained negotiator; the auto claims adjuster. The good news is, you can still improve your personal injury settlements through using 5 fundamental negotiation techniques.

The first thing you should do is...


1. Decide on Your Minimum Car Accident Injury Settlement

Before you start negotiating with the auto insurance adjuster, decide on exactly what is the the bare minimum settlement offer you're prepared to accept. This is something you should keep to yourself and not go over with the car insurance adjuster. Anytime you negotiate with someone, you need to know what is your bottom line figure. By already having a minimum amount, the adjuster will not be able to bully or push you into a "take it or leave it" option. Having a minimum figure will prevent you from making a hasty decision that you may feel sorry about later.

Of course, this doesn't mean you should just settle for your minimum settlement amount. In order to avoid getting a low car accident injury settlement you should...


2. Never Settle for the First Auto Accident Settlement Offer

Car insurance adjusters are very well known to give their lowest car accident settlement offer first.

The adjusters deliberately give you a low settlement offer to see how you react. They want to see

a) Do you truly know how much your car accident claim is really worth?
b) How desperate and concerned are you to settle your claim as soon as possible?


The very first offer is definitely not the last offer. It is quite simply an attempt by the insurance companies to pay you as little as possible. And since a lot of people are unaware of these negotiation methods, most people typically accept the low first offer. Not realizing that there was more money still left to work with .


As you are given an offer by the insurance company, ask yourself the following question:

Is this settlement offer unreasonably low?


If you are convinced that the car accident settlement offer is unreasonably low, you should ….


3. Demand a reason for the Low Settlement

When you are given an awfully low car accident claims settlement, the auto insurance adjuster is evaluating how serious you are to negotiate a higher settlement.

During these moments, you should ask the claims adjuster to explain their thinking for such a low settlement.

Make certain you take notes of these reasons. You will use these notes to examine each point and afterwards write up a response letter.

However , if the adjuster made some good points that you overlooked, then you should slightly lower your claim. For example, maybe the adjuster pointed a traffic violation that made your more accountable for the auto accident. This would make you more responsible for the accident and justifiably lower your final settlement amount.

However, if the adjuster's explanation offers nothing that makes you more liable for the car accident, then this is just a bluff. You should write a response letter where you address each point that the adjuster specifically made as being valid or invalid. At the conclusion of the letter, ask for a new settlement or restate your original demand. Once you have sent the response letter, wait for the adjuster to give their counter points before adjusting your final demand.

When you are adjusting your final demand, it is important that you...

4. Gradually Decrease Your Settlement

At several points during the negotiations you will have to lower your original settlement demand in order to progress. A good range to reduce you settlement is between 10%-20%. This is a nice range because
a) It's not significantly lower than your original demand
b) It's substantial enough to show you are willing to negotiate


Since the adjuster will continue to lower you settlement, its best to reduce your demand in small increments. This protects you and also helps move the negotiations forward.

The final thing you need to know is that you shouldn't...

5. Do Not Keep Reducing Your Settlement Demand
As you try to negotiate your car accident claims, the adjuster will try to reduce your initial demand. Negotiations only work if both parties are willing to budge from their initial demands. However, when you finally slightly lower claim, it's essential to wait for the claims adjuster to offer you a slightly better offer as well. You shouldn't lower your car accident claim again until the adjuster increases their original offer.

If you keep reducing your car accident claim without receiving a better offer, your claim will appear weak. This makes it look like your just guessing and unsure of how much your claim is worth. The insurance adjuster will keep pushing your claim further down until you give up and accept a low settlement.

These are just a few ways in which on how you can get money from your car accident insurance claims. To learn about more advice to help your insurance settlements visit www.after-car-accidents.com