Dealing with Car Insurance Adjusters

March 2, 2016 by Chris Anglin in Blog | Comments Off

If you’re in an automobile accident in the Raleigh, North Carolina area, a car insurance adjuster from the other driver’s insurance company will contact you. It’s important to be well prepared to speak to the adjuster. It’s always recommended that you have an attorney represent you. However, if you decide to represent yourself, here are some ways to maximize your chances for success:

  1. Remember that everything you say is being recorded. The car insurance adjuster is not on your side and will try to elicit statements from you in order to help shield their driver from liability and minimize the value of your case. Simple things, such as saying you are feeling “okay” or being unclear on the details of the accident can be used against you. The adjuster will suggest that if you indicated that you were “okay” in your initial statement that you were not actually injured in the accident. If you are sketchy on the details of the accident, the attorney will suggest that this lack of clarity means you were not paying attention when the accident occurred or that your version of events is untrue simply because you waiver in your statement. Conveniently, many insurance companies will only save a written transcript of your statement and will have no audio recording to substantiate the statement. If a lawsuit has to be filed, it will often be your word against a written transcript.
  2. Provide adequate documentation. You need to provide the car insurance adjuster documents to help substantiate any claims you are making whether it is for lost wages, medical expenses or property damage. The car insurance adjuster needs to be able to justify any payments which they make to you. It is important that you get medical bills and records from your doctors, pictures of the damage to your vehicle, repair costs and/or service invoice from the auto body repair shop and verification from your work for your lost wages. It is your job to prove what your damages are to the adjuster and they will never take your word for it.
  3. Remain Calm. It does not help to get angry or yell at the car insurance adjuster. You need to remain as calm as possible when speaking with them. When evaluating your case, the adjuster is not just evaluating the documentation, they are evaluating you. They are trained to think ahead about what a theoretical trial would look like. If you come off as being hot-headed and unable to control your temper, the adjuster will extrapolate this to the way you would behave at a future trial. Who do you think a jury will like better and believe? A witness who gets angry at the drop of the hat and looks like they’re about to get into a barroom brawl or a witness who is calm, cool and collected? A jury will obviously like and believe the calm witness more. It can be difficult to control your emotions, but the calmer you are, the more likely you are to receive a favorable offer from the adjuster.
  4. Ask for more than you want. This is a common negotiating tactic which most people know about. Prior to beginning negotiations, you should pick a number that you are willing to settle for. If you are formulating the number in mid-conversation, this makes it more likely that you will make a mistake or settle your case for less than it is worth. After picking the number, your initial offer needs to be higher than what you are willing to accept. This leaves you room to negotiate with the car insurance adjuster. They will gradually increase their offer as you decrease yours.
  5. Don’t seem desperate. Car insurance adjusters can sense desperation, the way that women can sense the desperation of men. Meaning, that if you act like you need the money immediately, the adjuster will use this in order to make you take a lower offer. Remember that the adjuster has a long time to resolve the case while you may need to get your car repaired to get to work and your medical bills paid in order to avoid bill collectors. You can seek a quick resolution to your case without seeming overly desperate. Make sure to make no indication to the adjuster of any financial or transportation issues that you are having. The adjuster will not be swayed by this and will only use the information to make a lower settlement offer.

 

Hopefully these tips will help you resolve your case favorably. Please stay tuned for future tips for dealing with adjusters.

Remember that dealing with an automobile accident in Raleigh, North Carolina is complex and you should hire a car accident attorney in Wake County to help you with your case! Please contact us at 919-803-1516 or http://anglinlawfirm.com/contact-us/ to have your free consultation today.

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