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Insurance companies will almost always put forth a low settlement offer after a car accident in Indiana. Instead of accepting an amount that’s far less than what they’re entitled to, Indiana car accident victims need to learn how to handle a low settlement offer.
Insurance companies often offer a low settlement amount because they don’t want to pay what you’re due. Instead of handling it yourself, it’s best to hire an attorney to respond to an insurance company’s low settlement offer. Your lawyer will know which steps to take and how to approach frustrating settlement negotiations. You should never attempt to handle a low settlement offer by yourself. In doing so, you may fall into the traps that insurance companies lay for unsuspecting car accident victims who may need fast access to money.
Our lawyers are here to stand up to Indiana insurance companies that refuse to pay the settlement amount you deserve. For a free case evaluation, call the Indiana car accident attorneys at Wruck Paupore today at (219) 322-1166.
After filing a claim with a negligent driver’s car insurance company, you may be frustrated when you receive a low settlement offer. Unfortunately, insurance companies in Indiana are notorious for underpaying victims every chance they get because they don’t want to pay full value for car accidents. Although an insurance adjuster may seem friendly, their goal is always to pay as little as they can to resolve your claim. Most insurance adjusters are highly trained and very experienced in tactics designed to pay you less than you’re owed.
Sometimes, Indiana car accident victims would rather forgo a lawsuit and file a claim with a negligent driver’s insurance company. Indiana is an at-fault state for car accidents, so victims only have two choices when seeking compensatory damages: file a lawsuit or file an insurance claim. Victims will sometimes try to settle their claim with the insurance company without first talking to an attorney. When that happens, insurance companies are eager to offer the lowest settlement amount possible, knowing that the accident victim may not know all of their legal rights or what their case is really worth.
One large insurance company found that, on average, auto accident victims with attorneys recovered 3 times more money than those without, even after paying any legal fee. As a result, many insurance companies designed strategies to try to resolve claims with accident victims before they consult with a lawyer. Insurance adjusters are highly trained in these tactics.
Some of the strategies used by insurance companies may include contacting you and offering you a low-ball settlement very soon after the accident, before you speak with a lawyer. They may also attempt to get you to sign documents which could hurt your right to recovery or give up your right to a settlement altogether. Nearly every insurer maintains databases about what juries have awarded to accident claim victims in cases similar to yours and they are trained to try and resolve the case for far less than this amount.
If you haven’t had your case reviewed by an experienced Indiana car accident lawyer, you are unlikely to know what the true value of your case actually is. Knowing this, the insurance adjuster may make a low settlement offer hoping you will accept it not knowing the true value of your case. Unrepresented Indiana car accident victims may not understand that they can negotiate or how to effectively negotiate, causing them to agree to a settlement amount that doesn’t adequately compensate them. Moreover, in our experience insurance companies very often will not make a fair offer unless an attorney for the victim is involved.
Having an Indiana car accident attorney assist you in claims against an insurance company is essential. If you don’t have the benefit of legal advice, you may not know how to handle a low settlement offer. An Indiana car accident lawyer can handle these negotiations for you and will let the insurance company know you mean business.
The first settlement offer from an Indiana insurance company will almost always be low. Your attorney will expect that and be prepared to negotiate. Victims can get emotional after receiving a low settlement offer, and their understandable frustration can negatively impact the process. Allowing your attorney to respond on your behalf protects you from making any statements that might otherwise affect a potential settlement offer.
Your Hammond car accident attorney will know which questions to ask regarding a low settlement offer. Experienced lawyers are familiar with the language insurance adjusters can use to confuse victims or convince them that their low-ball settlement offer is appropriate.
Your attorney will also investigate and compile all available evidence supporting your claim before you even receive a low settlement offer from an insurance company after a South Bend car accident. When a skilled attorney has fully investigated and prepared your claim, they can present it to an insurance company in a compelling way which can result in substantially higher recovery. An experienced attorney will know how to document and prove your damages for pain and suffering that an Indiana insurance company may otherwise ignore.
Having an attorney by your side during settlement negotiations with an insurance company levels the playing field. It bars an insurance company from taking advantage of your situation and convincing you to accept a settlement amount that’s less than what you deserve.
Finally, being represented by an attorney with a reputation for obtaining large settlements can also directly impact what an insurance company is willing to offer. Many insurance companies maintain databases of recoveries obtained by particular lawyers or law firms, and this information may be used the insurer in determining how much they are willing to pay to settle a claim.
Sometimes insurance companies won’t raise their initial low settlement offer. This may happen, for example, if an Indiana car accident victim is without legal representation and misspeaks during discussions with an insurance company. To prevent this from happening, victims should always enlist help from an attorney before speaking with any insurance adjuster.
Unfortunately, insurance companies employ unsavory tactics to trick victims into accepting some level of fault for a car accident. Anything you say during discussions can be twisted into an excuse for an insurance company to offer the lowest settlement amount possible. Victims unaware of this goal may misspeak throughout the claims process and be forced to accept a settlement amount that doesn’t cover their damages from an Indiana car accident.
Should an insurance adjuster mislead a victim into making a harmful statement, they can deny a claim or delay it indefinitely. Unfortunately, this can prevent Indiana car accident victims from obtaining the compensatory damages they deserve.
Because of that, victims should consult with an attorney before engaging with an insurance company. Your Indianapolis car accident lawyer can speak on your behalf to ensure that you don’t accept blame for a collision you did not cause. Even if you decide not to hire a lawyer to represent you, our lawyers are available for a free case review and are able to help you understand your rights even if you do ultimately decide to try to resolve your claim without hiring a lawyer.
Indiana car accident victims shouldn’t have to handle a low settlement offer independently. Call us today for a free case evaluation with the Fort Wayne car accident attorneys at Wruck Paupore at (219) 322-1166.
Don is a founding partner and one of the nation’s top-ranked personal injury litigators. He is a member of the Multi-million Dollar Advocates Forum, which includes less than 1% of the nation’s trial lawyers, and awarded the highest ranking given by Martindale Hubbel and AVVO.
More importantly, Don understands representing personal injury victims is about more than recovering the best settlement: it’s about helping clients get back on their feet and supporting them in every aspect of their recovery.
In nearly all cases, our clients seek compensation from the wrongdoer’s insurance company. Before forming Wruck Paupore, Jason worked for a prominent law firm representing some of the world’s largest insurers. This experience gives Jason a deep understanding of the insurance industry and the strategies it uses to pay injury victims as little as possible.
Jason -- and our entire team -- put this inside knowledge to work to force insurance companies to pay what is actually owed. Often, we use the insurance company’s own tactics against them as we fight for the full compensation our client deserves.
For more than four decades, Keith has been fighting for injury victims. During that time, he’s watched the insurance industry change, with insurers now more interested in protecting their stock price than treating injury victims fairly.
Since the beginning, Keith has put people first. From his childhood in Gary, Indiana during the 1960’s and working his way through law school, Keith has risen to become one of the Midwest’s most respected trial lawyers. He has never forgotten that being a lawyer is about helping people -- and seeing injury victims through struggles in a way that could change their lives forever.
Over the decades, Keith, Don and Jason have fought relentlessly for clients, even when other lawyers have said the case was impossible to win.
Contact Us:
Wruck Paupore P.C.
Injury Lawyers
275 Joliet St. Suite #250
Dyer, IN 46311
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