You can always measure how much you’re winning by counting your gains. But the thing about investing is that it’s not just about you. And when you factor in others, it gets even more complicated. Which makes sense because at the end of the day, whether it’s trying to figure out what to invest in or if your returns are growing, it’s not just about you?
This means that there are two key points to consider: your return and the returns of everyone else involved in the investment so you can grow your wealth together. There are lots of ways to do this but the one we’re going to focus on here is investing with other people through an entity called a hedge fund. The ability to negotiate a good settlement with your insurance company is one of the most important skills that you can develop as an individual who is seeking compensation for injuries caused by the negligence or wrongdoing of another. Insurance companies are looking out for their bottom line. The insurance claims adjuster does not have the same goals as the injured victim. Your job is to learn how to negotiate in a way that will benefit you, not just your insurance company.
Insurance claims adjuster works for an insurance company to investigate damages resulting from accidents to people and property.
After their investigation, they determine the extent of the insurance company’s liability. As a claims adjuster, you are also responsible for negotiating with clients regarding payment amounts on new claims. You are required to have at least an associate’s degree in business, finance or insurance.
Another duty of the claims adjuster is to assess damages after fires, floods and other disasters. They are often required to relocate to an affected area for the duration of cleanup and restoration efforts. Claims adjusters may work with engineers or forensic accountants on damage assessments or lawsuits if negligence is involved.
Some claims adjusters are educationally certified to be able to teach safety classes to employees. They may also train the sales force of insurance companies on safety topics to educate clients.
Education requirements for an insurance claims adjuster typically include at least an associate’s degree in business, finance or insurance. Some employers require entry-level claims adjusters to have a bachelor’s degree in the same field. Some employers may also hire applicants with an undergraduate degree in philosophy, English or other liberal arts that required no previous work in claims adjusting.
To become an insurance claims adjuster, you must meet many requirements including formal education and experience. Training is often required by an employer, so it’s important to check with varied employers to determine which training is needed.
Once you have reviewed the claims file, it’s time to start communicating with the insured.
Remember that you are not a judge. You have no idea what their life is like and what their financial status is. In an effort to get them compensated for your client’s claims, you need to be careful of how you communicate with them.
At this point, there are a couple of ways to approach the insured:
The statutory way is that you should 1) identify your client’s claim(s), 2) request documentation from the insured to support their claims, and 3) offer them an informal settlement. In order to achieve this goal, read over their claim documents thoroughly and send them back a detailed letter outlining your client’s position on their claim. State their claim as it relates to the insurance policy they have with your client. Then, request the documentation from them that is relevant to your client’s position on their claims. You can follow up with a phone call if you feel you need further clarification. Finally, offer an informal settlement amount and tell them what a formal settlement is going to entail. They will either agree to the amount or they won’t. If not, you can immediately begin the formal settlement process by forwarding your client’s letter to their attorney with a cover letter summarizing your previous telephone conversation. However, it is advised that you do this only if the insured agrees to an informal offer prior to beginning negotiations.
The non-statutory way is that you should call the insured and attempt to reach a settlement agreement.
In order to do this, you need to identify your client’s claim(s) and explain them in detail to the insured. Then, explain how much money your client would be willing
If they agree to settle their claims with your client, you will need to prepare a settlement agreement that you can send to their attorney. The agreement should include the terms, conditions, and stipulations of the settlement including how much money your client will pay out. If they don’t agree to settle their claims with your client, you will proceed by getting the insurance adjuster’s permission to provide them with an informal settlement offer. It is important to know that if you notify the insured of an informal settlement offer prior to forwarding it on to their attorney, your client may be subject to some penalties by the insurance company. Also, remember not to address any formal settlement negotiations until you have received written acceptance from both sides for the informal settlement agreement.
Once this is done, you need to get the insurance adjuster’s permission to proceed any further. Once they agree, you will forward on your informal settlement offer to their attorney and wait for a written response. If it is rejected, you can re-offer them an amount that is different from the first one only if you receive verbal consent from the insurance adjuster. If it is accepted, you will need to draft a formal settlement agreement and send both parties copies for their signatures.
The issue here is that if your client rejects the informal offer or if they don’t respond within 10 days, your client may be liable for some penalties such as interest on the total claim amount. For this reason alone, it is advised that you only proceed with the non-statutory way after you receive written consent from your client and the insurance adjuster.
The following list of settlement negotiation mistakes does not cover all possible errors, but they are common ones:
1) Accepting a formal offer before getting permission from the insurance adjuster to do so. If you do this, your client may be subject to interest penalties.
2) Failing to explain the process of formal settlement negotiations clearly to your client
What this means is that you should take the time to explain the entire process in detail including what documents are being submitted, when they are being sent out, etc. This way, if you do receive an offer from the other side that must be submitted back to their attorney, you can then show your client proof of what was sent and when.
3) Failing to make copies of all correspondence and statements for both parties
It is best practice to make a copy of everything you send out. Note that some insurance companies may refuse to participate in the formal settlement process if they find out that an insured is pursuing a copy of their statements. If this is the case, you will need to send them a settlement demand letter in the non-statutory way and wait for a written response from their attorney before proceeding with anything further.
4) Not making copies of all correspondence sent back
This should go without saying but it’s best practice to make a copy of all correspondence you receive from the adverse party. This will help if they deny any of your claims and it will also come in handy should you need to file any counter-claims.
To avoid these mistakes, you should check with your insurance company first before submitting an offer to the other side that must be forwarded on to their attorney. This way, you will avoid any potential problems including the risk of getting sued for breaching confidentiality by your client. Before you do anything else though, always make sure to check with them first.
The following are some common settlement negotiation mistakes even experienced claims adjusters can fall prey to:
1) Falling victim to a bad faith settlement negotiation
This means that you must never negotiate a settlement with the other side if their attorney is refusing to communicate with you or to provide any compensation information. If this happens, continue to try and settle the case in the non-statutory way until such time that they do agree to cooperate.
2) Offering too little when making a settlement offer
Remember that you must always provide a reasonable range of compensation so as not to be accused of breaching your duty to “good faith and fair dealing.” You can base your offer on any or all of the following:
– what the other party is willing to accept,
– settlements in similar cases,
– insurance company recommendations,
– individual insurance company policies.
3) Offering too much when making a settlement offer
When offering compensation that exceeds what your client is actually owed, you will be putting yourself at risk of breaching the duty to good faith and fair dealing. This holds true even if you do receive verbal consent from the insurance adjuster to do so.
4) Not negotiating a settlement at all
This should go without saying, but if you don’t negotiate, the other party is most likely going to pursue legal action against your client instead. When you do receive an offer from them, whether they are admitting liability or not, it will always be in your best interest to try and negotiate a settlement first.
5) Making a counter-offer without the client’s permission
Your client must always give their express consent before accepting an offer from the other party. This means that you should never try and settle the case on your own without first discussing it with them and getting their approval. You can then show them that their case is worth a certain amount of money depending on the specific circumstances, but it is still their decision to make. You should never try and settle the case on your own terms without first getting express consent from your client.
6) Not making a counter-offer
If you do receive an offer from the other side that you believe may be too low for your client, you should always try and negotiate a settlement while pointing out the potential weaknesses in their case. If they happen to be admitting liability at this point and you can get them to up their offer, go ahead and do so.
7) Not keeping copies of all correspondence
This is important because either side could find themselves in a situation where they are looking to file a countersuit against the other party. If this happens, you will want to have copies of all correspondence available for both your attorney and yourself.
8) Not maintaining the client’s confidentiality
Confidentiality is always important in these matters and it is especially true if your client does not know that you are working with the other party’s attorney to try and resolve the case. If the other side does happen to find out about this, they may accuse you of breaching confidentiality or even sue your client for fraud.