If you feel that your auto insurance company's vehicle valuation is too low, you may choose to negotiate with your claims appraiser. When the auto insurance settlement offer is too low and attempts at discussion and negotiation fail, there is still another option. Starting an injury lawsuit doesn't necessarily mean negotiations are over. An intractable insurance adjuster can suddenly become more reasonable when your company begins to accumulate the costs of a court case and faces the possibility of a judgment being handed down against you.
On the other hand, a lawsuit also exposes you to the risk of losing your case, and the additional expense of litigation could make the insurance company less willing to reach a settlement or that, even if you win a settlement, it will be reduced due to legal fees. A low initial settlement offer can also be a simple negotiating tactic, but carefully analyzing the information that has already been sent to the insurer can help you better understand the position of the insurance adjuster and improve your chances of negotiating or winning a larger amount. Many car accident plaintiffs wonder if they can or should reject their lawyer's first settlement offer. In the vast majority of reconciliation cases, saying no to the first offer is a necessary first step to ensure that a fair outcome is obtained for your claim.
Rejecting the auto insurance company's first settlement offer will almost never result in the revocation of the offer (meaning that the insurer withdraws the offer and refuses to continue negotiating), nor is it followed by an even lower offer. You can always file a car insurance claim on your own, but if you have serious injuries and your full medical recovery is expected to take some time, or if the insurance company shows signs that it isn't taking your claim seriously, there's nothing that can replace the experience and expertise of an attorney. The complexity and length of the negotiations to reach an auto accident settlement will depend on the severity of your injuries, whether the fault of the car accident is fairly clear or highly disputed, the amount of insurance coverage available, and many other factors. If you find yourself in this situation, it's time to ask the insurance adjuster to clarify your position with evidence or, at least, with sound reasoning.
However, unless the insurance company feels that your claim is completely unfounded and offers you a few hundred dollars in an annoying “take it or leave it” value settlement proposal, the appraiser will almost certainly anticipate the rejection of the first offer, and your rejection of the offer will only boost the settlement negotiation process. However, if you believe that the insurer is acting in bad faith, you should report it to your state regulator. Your only option is to negotiate with your insurer the value of the car, as convincing the insurer to adjust the value could affect the decision to total the car in accordance with state law. If the insurer doesn't agree with your statements about the car's ACV, you can contact your state's insurance regulator for help.
It's important to remember that insurance companies are only required to pay the actual cash value (ACV) of the car, not the cost of a replacement car or the original price you paid for the vehicle. This is a common situation, since all the work of an insurance adjuster involves trying to save the company money. Even if you don't want the insurer to add up the total of your car, you can't discuss your state's total loss threshold or ask the insurer to use a different system. So, assuming that the at-fault driver has car insurance, the settlement offer will come from the other driver's insurance company, and if you have an attorney, he will be the middleman.
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