Insurance Settlements (wreck)

[Winchester]

Have you ever had to go through the settlement "stage" with an insurance company (car). Did you negotiate and get a better offer? How much over their original offer did you get?

Would like to leave lawyers out of it since they are just a scare tactic and will take 1/3 of whatever we get anyway and we dont want to feel "greedy" but also dont want to get screwed.

Just got an offer last week just wondering what our options are now.

 

[BoomerD]

NEVER accept what they offer you...ALWAYS fight them for more. If it's your insurance, take in proof that your car is worth more than they're offering. If this is for injury, pain and suffering, then by all means, get your own lawyer. They have one (or a thousand) why not have your own to look our for you?
If it's their insurance company...WHY are you even dealing with them? That's the job of your insurance company...
Lawyers. Yeah, they suck, but the other side is using theirs, why not use your own?
We went thru something similar a few years ago. Hit in a head-onb accident. Other person's fault, she even admitted it to the police. Totalled both car, minor injuries to all parties, none severe. Our ins. company offered a settlement for the car. I printed out reams of paper, showing why our car was worth several thousand $$$ more than they were offering...I won that part. Ended up with almost $5000 more than they started with.
Their insurance offered to cover medical bills, and a pitifully small settlement, while we were still seeing doctors...We declined, and talked to an attorney. It took about 2 yrs to finish things up, but we settled out of court for $56,000. and THEY paid our attorney fees...Not too shabby. The most we'd have gotten without an attorney is about $5000.

 

[bctbct]

You are probably better off with an attorney. There are many things that may apply concerning settlement that the average lay person would not think of.

One that comes to mind is how the money is allocated to you, could effect whether you pay tax on it or not.

Hopefully hiring an attorney while expensive will increase the settlement enough to at least pay his bill and cover your butt. Good luck...I hate insurance companies!

 

[Winchester]

Any more opinios?

 

[preslove]

Talk to a lawyer. Screw the anti-litigation idiocy on this board. Insurance companies are absolute scum. They make lawyers look like cute nuns.

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: preslove
Talk to a lawyer. Screw the anti-litigation idiocy on this board. Insurance companies are absolute scum. They make lawyers look like cute nuns.

Unfortunately I have to agree. Even paying a lawyer 1/3 you will still get more that what the insurance company offered.