If your claim is simple (i.e. fault is not at issue, the damage was minimal, and little or no medical treatment was necessary and), the adjuster may have you get an estimate for repairs and then send you a check. You will have to fill out some paperwork, but you may not have to meet with the adjuster in person. If your claim is more complicated (for example, liability is unclear, you do not have enough coverage in your policy, or you do not agree with your adjuster’s settlement offer), then the negotiation process will take longer.

Investigating Your Automobile Accident Claim

The Settlement Offer

The Demand Letter

Negotiating with the Claims Adjuster

If Your Auto Accident Claim is Denied

Investigating Your Automobile Accident Claim In relatively complicated injury accident claims, adjusters typically must do some investigation in order to adequately assess the insurance company’s liability. The adjuster will comb through your policy and possibly contact witnesses to the accident, the other party to the accident, look at the police report if there is one, take photographs of the damages and scene of the accident, and generally investigate your medical expenses by sending out requests to your medical providers for information regarding your treatment. If you are seeking to have medical bills covered, the adjuster will send you a medical authorization form for the release of your medical records.

The Settlement Offer
Once the adjuster has investigated your claim and looked at your policy, he or she will typically send you a settlement offer. The settlement offer will tell you what the insurance company is willing to pay on your claim. It could be all, it could be part, it could be none. This opening offer is typically on the low side. After all, the adjuster’s job is to save his or her employer money. But the adjuster also wants to close a case and thus is typically allowed a settlement range that offers room for negotiation. See When the Adjuster’s Settlement Offer is Too Low.

The Demand Letter
If you are confident about how much you think your claim is worth, you can preempt the adjuster’s settlement offer with your own settlement proposal (demand letter). Your demand letter would outline fault (if an issue), damages, an d ask for a certain amount to settle your claim.

So should you make a demand first, or wait for the offer? See Making a Demand or Waiting for a Car Insurance Offer for more information. See Settling Your Car Insurance Claim: How to Write a Demand Letter to learn how to write your own letter.

Negotiating with the Claims Adjuster
If you’ve already received an opening offer from the adjuster, keep in mind that opening offers for settlement are almost always on the low side. Whether or not you think the offer is reasonable, read When the Adjuster’s Settlement Offer is Too Low for more information on how to evaluate that opening offer. Then, unless you’re willing to go with that opening offer (knowing that it’s too low) without an argument, you will ultimately need to negotiate with the adjuster for a higher settlement. See Negotiating Your Car Insurance Settlement for more advice.

If Your Auto Accident Claim is Denied
If your claim is denied in whole or in part, there could be many legitimate and reasonable reasons. Most have to do with limits in your coverage. You can check the denial letter against your policy to see if the denial seems legitimate or not. If you still think your claim was unfairly denied, read When Your Car Insurance Claim is Denied for more on what you can do next. But whatever you decide to do, don’t wait too long to do it. If you sit on your claim for too long, you may lose the right to sue in court to get your recovery. Each state has a statute of limitations (a time limit for filing a lawsuit in court). In most states, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is 2 or 3 years.

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