How To Deal With A Slip And Fall Claims Adjuster

Dealing with a slip and fall claim can be a highly stressful time for many, particularly if you are losing earnings while waiting for your claim to be settled. One of the trickiest tasks many people face is dealing with an insurance adjuster, as these individuals are usually highly trained and experienced professionals who are out to maximize their company's profits. If you feel overwhelmed by this, consider the following three tips to effectively negotiate your claim:

Understand How Adjusters View Your Claim

If you're dealing with an insurance adjuster directly, it's likely that you've decided to represent yourself. Once you begin negotiating with an adjuster, the insurance company recognizes that you have taken the case on yourself. Although this may be seen as admirable by many people, adjusters will more often than not see this as a way to save significant amounts of money when settling the claim.

The reason for this is that they are likely to view self-representation as an attempt to save money. Legal advice can be expensive if you don't know where to look, so adjusters will probably detect a hint of frugality on your behalf.

While there's nothing wrong with trying to save a few dollars, insurance adjusters will see your self-representation as a green light to settle for a meager sum of money. They will believe – either rightly or wrongly – that you will accept a smaller payment than you are rightfully entitled to and will offer you a paltry settlement when first negotiating your claim. Therefore, if you do decide to represent yourself, it's important you recognize these tactics by the adjuster and are able to stay strong when faced with a weak offer.

Be Wary of Getting too Personal

Insurance adjusters are highly intelligent individuals who have been through an extensive training program that enables them to understand not only the financial aspect of adjusting, but also the personal aspect. Very much like a skilled salesman, the insurance adjuster understands that developing relationships with their "clients" can increase their chances of sealing a profitable deal.

Therefore, while your insurance adjuster may be a perfectly nice individual who you seem to get along with, be wary of giving too much information away. Getting too personal with an adjuster can cause you to slip up and give away some vital information that the adjuster will be able to use against you down the line. Even if you don't recognize it as such, mentioning things like buying a new car or sending your child to summer camp can be detrimental when it comes to settling your case.

Why is this so? Well, giving away this sort of information lets adjusters know that you have significant outlays and will likely be keen to recoup the cost as soon as possible. Once they know this, they will be able to lowball your settlement offers and make a profit on their side.

Always Listen to What the Adjuster Has to Say

Personal injury claims can be a worrying time; waiting for your case to be settled can often be frustrating, particularly if proceedings are taking longer than you had hoped. When the insurance company calls to explain why your case doesn't merit the full settlement, it's easy to become angry and cut them off before hearing their reasons why.

However, it's vitally important that you remain calm and listen to everything the adjuster has to say. Not only will this make the insurance adjuster respect you more, it will also allow you to analyze your case objectively and recognize any weak points that are hampering your progress.

While this may not seem like a great idea when going through the claims process, it is extremely important if you do decide to take your claim to court. When preparing to face the judge, you must know what to expect from the insurance company regarding faults with your claim. This way, you will be able to formalize an appropriate response and give yourself the best chance of securing a positive settlement. For more information, consider meeting with an attorney from a site like http://www.putnamlieb.com.


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