How Can an Attorney Assist With Insurance Company Negotiations?

If you have been injured due to the negligent actions of another person, company, or entity, you may be involved in a claim to recover compensation. Typically, the first step towards recovering compensation is filing an insurance claim. If the insurance carrier chooses to pay an adequate amount for the claim, then the matter is resolved. Unfortunately, Houston personal injury claims are almost never straightforward, and an attorney can help with complex insurance company negotiations.

Conduct the Investigation to Gather Evidence

Before negotiations even begin with an insurance carrier, there needs to be a complete investigation into the incident in order to uncover all of the evidence needed to maintain a solid negotiation footing. Your attorney will be much better prepared for any negotiations with insurance carriers if they have all of the information available to them.

When you work with a lawyer, they will handle the investigation into the incident using their expenses. This investigation may need to go fairly in-depth, including gathering mobile device data, vehicle black box data, driving histories, etc.

Help Calculate Total Losses

Before negotiations can even begin, your attorney needs to know how much compensation to demand from the other party or parties. This cannot happen until there has been a thorough assessment of your total losses. Calculating total losses after an accident involves working with trusted medical and economic professionals. Losses go beyond just the medical bills, which are often extensive in and of themselves.

In addition to the medical expenses, individuals may have to deal with lost wages, property damage expenses, out-of-pocket costs arising due to the incident, as well as various emotional and psychological pain and suffering.

Only after an attorney understands your total losses can they properly negotiate with the insurance carriers.

Negotiate With Other Parties – This Takes Experience

Insurance carriers will work efficiently, but on their own behalf. They want to limit how much compensation they pay you after an accident occurs. An initial settlement offer is likely to be far below what you should actually receive, but your attorney will know this.

Negotiations involve back and forth, and your lawyer will handle this entire process for you. An attorney can examine any offer put forth by the insurance carrier and submit a counteroffer, and so on, until an acceptable settlement is reached.

Keep a Lawsuit in The Back Pocket

In the event the insurance carrier refuses to offer a fair settlement, an attorney may need to file a civil personal injury lawsuit. In fact, your attorney may actually go ahead and file a personal injury lawsuit while negotiations with the insurance carrier are ongoing. Even though most claims get settled with the insurance carrier, your attorney will likely not take the option of taking the case to trial off the table because doing so would give the insurance carriers a reason to continue to delay or deny the claim.

Negotiations with insurance carriers and other parties typically continue, even after a lawsuit gets filed. Your attorney will discuss your options with you and keep you informed every step of the way. Ultimately, the goal is to help you recover the most compensation available for your losses, whether through a negotiated insurance settlement or a jury trial.