If you have submitted an injury claim to an insurance company, then you should expect to negotiate with the insurance adjuster. You should have in your mind the minimum amount of money that you would agree to accept.

The adjuster usually knows how much money the insurance company is willing to pay you, as compensation.
If you have hired a personal injury lawyer in St John’s, then the 2 of you can work together, in order to compose a demand letter. Your demand should be higher than the minimum amount that you are willing to accept.

Remarks the adjuster might make in response to your demand letter

The adjuster would explain the terms of the defendant’s insurance policy. That would include mention of the policy limits. They normally ask claimants about their injuries and about how a given injury has been treated. After having made those remarks, the adjuster would probably introduce the insurance company’s initial offer. That would represent the start of negotiations.

Tips for claimants that must hear and respond to an adjuster’s offers

Be organized: take notes, when speaking on the phone with someone in the insurance company. Be sure to get the name of the person on the other end of the line.

Be patient: do not expect an immediate answer to every question. Do not keep calling, in hopes of getting an answer. Follow the advice given in the next suggestion.

Be persistent: show that you appreciate how the system works. If an adjuster’s response suggests that he or she must wait for instructions from the insurer, then ask for a date when those instructions ought to be delivered to the adjuster’s office. Mark that date on your calendar, and call the appropriate office on that same date.

Remain calm: adopt a strategy for displaying emotion. You might want to attach a picture of the damaged vehicle to your demand letter. You might mention, as calmly as possible, the obstacles that have been put in front of you, since you became injured.

Show that you have an honest claim. Do not say that you sustained a certain injury, when the doctor has not mentioned that injury in your medical report. Do not insist that the other driver hit you, when the location of the damage indicates that you hit the other driver’s vehicle.

By the same token, do not hesitate to underscore the apparent severity of your injury. If you know that you were unconscious for a brief period, following the moment of the impact, share that fact with the representative from the insurance company. Otherwise, the adjuster’s assessment of the accident’s assessed value could fall far below the figure that represented its true value.