1.) What are the insurance limits in the case?
They don’t want you to ask this question because it shows that you may be trying to get the insurance limits and that you’re savvier than your just average layman and smarter than them. If insurance companies can do so, they want to avoid paying out the limits and pay as little as possible.
2.) How much check writing authority do they have, you’re essentially asking them how much they can write a check for without having to get supervisor approval.
They may not want to answer that question because you may think the value of your cases above their check writing authority and if that was the case, you’d need a new adjuster assigned and they want to keep their file.
3.) What is the settlement reserve?
The reserve is an amount of money that an insurance company and insurance adjusters set aside to pay your case. They don’t want to be asked that because then you have a better idea of how much they think your case may be worth.
As you can see getting to a fair and equitable settlement is a daunting task and we are only at question 3. If you or a loved one have been in a Peoria Arizona car accident give us a call 602-497-0991. Car accident law is all we do and there is never any cost to you.
4.) How much have they paid for the exact injury that you’ve had in the past for other claimants for their pain and suffering.
Insurance companies keep very specific files that show how much they’ve paid for pain and suffering for certain injuries. These settlement awards are not public knowledge and insurance companies do everything possible to keep such information as protected as possible. If you ask the insurance adjuster how much he’s paying in the past for pain and suffering for your same injury, he’s not going to tell you. And if he does tell you, rest assured that settlement number he gives you is going to be much lower than what he’s actually paid because they rarely like to show their hand. Plus, he wants you to then request that settlement amount.
5.) Mr. Adjuster, how many cases have you made an offer to a claimant like me and then a jury has awarded higher settlement than your offer?
Rest assured that there’s not an insurance company in Arizona that has had a case where they haven’t made an offer and that at personal injury claim went to trial and got a verdict in judgment for higher than that amount.
6.) How many times has your supervisor awarded a claimant and paid a claim for an amount higher than your last final offer was?
He might reply speaking with my supervisor is not going to do any good. But it is always worth a try as there will be times where the supervisor who has more settlement authority and he may just want to get the file closed and he may award a higher settlement. There’s never a guarantee, but this line of questioning works more often than not.
7.) What are the detrimental facts in my case that allows you to offer such a low-ball settlement?
Many facts go into a personal injury case which effect the value of your case. There’s a chance the insurance company knows about a witness that’s horrible for their defense, which is good for you and bad for them. However, on the flip side of things they may have a witness that is bad for your case.
8.) Does your insurance company typically increase the offer when a lawsuit is filed?
They may say no. Did you know the insurance adjustors do not have to be honest in their answers to you? They may not be telling you the truth, but the reality is in many cases when you file a lawsuit, the case gets transferred to a different adjuster who has more authority to settle your case for more money. This doesn’t always happen, but it happens frequently enough to follow up with this line of questioning.
9.) How much is your insured at fault?
You want to ask the insurance adjuster, what percentage of negligence are you placing on your client who wrongly injured me? Their stock answer will be I’m not going to do that. That is privileged information, but sometimes they will tell you and then you know where your next move will be either to settle or ask for more. WE always strive to ask for more.
10.) How much blame are they assigning to you the accident victim?
Just like in number nine. Sometimes they will tell you and sometimes they won’t. But you must follow through with this line of questioning and the police report is not the final say in determining who is at fault.
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