When you are dealing with an insurance company to get your claim for damages settled, you would be frequently dealing with the insurance adjuster. Thus, before you write the demand letter or accept or reject an offer made by the company, it is important to understand how the adjuster operates. Like a personal injury lawyer in Vaughan the insurance adjuster will investigate all details of the claim that you or your lawyer has filed. The insurance adjuster will investigate the defendant’s view of the accident, consider the medical report and police reports about the said accident. Additionally, the insurance company will search their database of any previous accident claim filed by you to check the viability and any weaknesses that they can use to lower the claim amount.
Evaluation of Documents
The insurance adjuster will need to evaluate your documentation related to medical bills, tax returns, income proof and property damage proof. It can be submitted by you or your lawyer. This is done to ensure that the claim that is filed is authentic and if anything is amiss, you maybe required to submit. If there are discrepancies in the documents, the claim can be denied. He or she will make the first offer after ensuring that you have a valid claim and all paperwork is completed.
Value of Claim Settlement
The adjuster must evaluate the claim based on the claimant’s chances of winning the claim and the amount the jury might decide to award him or her. Oftentimes, the damages are categorized into subheads. These are:
• Exact calculations: this includes the money spent on medical bills and loss of wages due to the injuries
• Non-calculatable: These are the damages claimed for pain and suffering, stress and trauma that happens due to the accident related injuries
For the rest of the damages, they just do the math and work out an amount that seems fair to the insurance company. There are specific formulas and methods available that helps the insurance adjuster calculate pain and suffering, mental trauma and other non- calculatable damages.
One the settlement figure has been computed; the insurance adjuster will offer a set percentage of the total value of the claim. Usually it ranges from 40% to 60% of the estimated amount. Thus, after they send in their offer letter, talk to your lawyer and if you don’t find it enough, you can send in your own quote. It is up to the insurance adjuster to negotiate or accept it. Most of the adjusters look at the profit of the insurance company that he or she is working for and that is why you need a lawyer to look out for your interests.