How To Respond to a Low Settlement Insurance Offer in Texas

January 13, 2022 | Personal Injury

Individuals who sustain an injury as a result of the negligence of another are often able to recover compensation through an insurance settlement. Unfortunately, recovering a fair settlement offer from an insurance carrier is particularly challenging. It is not uncommon for insurance carriers to put forward a low settlement offer. When this happens, individuals need to know how to respond in order to recover the compensation they are actually entitled to.

Avoid Threatening Language

When you are dealing with an insurance adjuster and insurance carrier that offers a low settlement, you need to check your feelings of anger and leave them at the door, so to speak. Becoming confrontational with insurance claims adjusters or any insurance carrier employees is not going to help your situation. Remain polite at all times, even if you do want to scream and yell.

It is also important for you to avoid making any types of threats towards insurance carrier employees. Again, you need to remain calm at all times and make the sound decision to contact a skilled personal injury lawyer. Individuals who do not have much legal and negotiation experience will likely not get as far after a low settlement offer comes in as a trained attorney will.

How to respond to a lowball insurance offer

Gather Documentation

It is very important that you gather as much documentation as possible. When you come prepared for any type of negotiation with an insurance claims adjuster, you are moving in the right direction. Some of the documentation that could help make your case for a higher compensation amount include the following:

  • Proof of all medical expenses that have occurred
  • Your medical records pertaining to the particular incident
  • Photograph or video of the injuries and the accident
  • Lost wage letter from your employer
  • Any police or accident reports related to the incident

Counteroffer

You will most certainly have to make a counteroffer after receiving a low settlement offer from the insurance carrier. Most people think that the initial offer from the insurance carrier is the final offer, but this is not the case. However, we encourage you not to go overboard with a counteroffer. You should keep your counteroffer within reason and within the bounds of what an experienced car accident lawyer in Austin would consider reasonable. Again, we strongly encourage you to contact an attorney who can offer advice pertaining to your case. If your counteroffer is well above what would reasonably be expected for a case of this type, the insurance claims adjuster will not take your counteroffer seriously.

Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer

In some situations, you may find that an attorney will take your case on a contingency fee basis, which means you would not owe any legal fees until after the attorney successfully recovers the compensation you are entitled to. There is no harm in contacting a Cedar park bicycle accident lawyer for a free consultation of your particular personal injury situation. An attorney will have the resources necessary to conduct a full investigation into your case if they decide to handle the situation. They will gather the evidence needed to prove liability, and they will be responsible for handling all negotiations with other parties involved. Ultimately, an attorney will be the one to help get a better settlement, and they can also file a personal injury lawsuit to take the case to civil court.