Settlement Offers
Understanding the basics of an insurance settlement
There are also multiple factors that you should consider before accepting a settlement offer from any insurance company since they can influence the outcome of the deal and the amount of compensation you get.
In most cases, these factors allow you to gain more leverage during the negotiations and help you significantly increase the amount of compensation they are offering you in the first place.
Unfortunately, in some cases, the insurance company can use some of these factors to make things more difficult for you and prevent you from receiving compensation for all the damages.
Factors to keep in mind for your settlement include: completing medical treatment, establishing liability, total damages cost (including economic and non-economic), and more.
Frequently asked questions
about accepting a settlement
You also need to consult with your lawyer and verify if you are personally liable for the injuries you received during the accident since that could significantly reduce the amount of money you can obtain from the insurance company.
In this case, the jury will look at the facts from both parties and determine if you were in any way responsible for causing the accident in the first place.
If you are found partially liable for the accident, the jury will decide the percentage of fault you had during this incident, which can reduce the total compensation you want to get, reaching a maximum of 50%.
However, if this amount reaches 51% or more, the court will immediately end the case, and you will lose the only chance to win against the insurance company, which means you will have to pay for everything yourself.
Most insurance companies will offer the minimum amount of compensation they need in their settlement to end the case quickly and avoid losing a lot of money in a lawsuit.
Unfortunately, the compensation they tend to offer the victims is almost always insufficient to cover all the damages caused during the accident, only helping you take care of a small portion of your losses.
One example is if a company tries to pay for the initial medical expenses and the destruction of your property but doesn’t include the following:
- The income or wages you have lost
- Future medical bills from the hospital
- Non-economic damages from the accident
That’s why you must analyze each settlement offer in detail and ensure that the compensation they offer is no less than the total cost related to the damages you received during this incident.
You must verify the statute limitations of your case and see how much time you have left before you can submit your lawsuit against the insurance company in the state where you live.
In general, the time limit to file a formal lawsuit will be around two years, which is more than enough to file all the documents you need and proceed with your case without any issues.
However, some states will have a shorter deadline, giving you less time to act on your case and putting you in a difficult spot if you don’t have enough time to move forward with the lawsuit.
If you find yourself in a situation where the statute limitations on your case are about to expire, you should seriously consider settling with the insurance company quickly before you lose your final chance to receive compensation.
From the very beginning, the insurance company will try to convince you to take their settlement offer as soon as possible without giving you the chance to analyze all your losses and determine how much compensation you will need.
Only a tiny percentage of settlement offers provided at the beginning by the insurance companies will give you decent compensation for all the damages you suffered from the accident.
Because of this reason, your lawyer will most likely have to go back and forth during the negotiations with the other party to ensure they don’t take advantage of you and trick you into signing an unfair settlement deal.
That’s why you should avoid accepting any settlement offer from the insurance company during the first weeks and get a clear overview of the total losses before settling your case.
If you don’t accept the settlement offer from the insurance company, you will not have any problems, but they will try to bluff you into believing they are giving you an all-or-nothing deal.on
Thankfully, you won’t have to worry about them revoking the initial settlement offer or lowering the amount of compensation they are trying to give you at the beginning of the negotiations.
You will always be able to demand more money from them after your lawyer presents more evidence from the accident and proves you are a victim who suffered financial and non-financial losses from this incident.
Consult a personal injury attorney before you settle
Insurance companies try their hardest to get people to settle for as little possible.
The insurance company will most likely try different strategies to frustrate you during the negotiations and get you to take the current settlement offer, which has the lowest compensation.
Some might even try to stall for time to destroy evidence from the accident, making it more difficult for you to fight for a fair deal and get a favorable result against them.
That’s why you need an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side. The Legal Help in Colorado team helps people injured in Colorado fight insurance companies so they can obtain the necessary financial means to get better and move on with their lives even in the face of tragedy.
Knowledgeable. Compassionate. Dedicated.
We are your personal injury team.
Available 24/7 to take your call: (720) 743-3682