The process of negotiating for a settlement- whether it be for an injury, car crash or malpractice - is essentially the same. Motorcycle accidents often cause horrible personal injury cases, but they follow the same pattern. Once you submit a demand letter the next step is negotiation.
Before the negotiation begins, you must submit a demand letter tot he insurance companies laying out your claim with supporting evidence. If you are lucky then the next step is just a few calls with your insurance company and your personal injury lawyer. These insurance companies negotiate like this all the time so it is no sweat for them. Treat it like a business deal as emotionless as possible to stay on your senses.
In the call, you and the adjuster will argue by going over the strong and weak points of each side's proposal. The adjuster's job is to low-ball you with a settlement lower than the one in your demand letter. Your job is to counter with an offer in between the demand price and the adjuster's offer. If you get a reservation of rights letter, it does not necessarily mean you have to run off to the best Denver injury attorney you can find. This is just a letter that protects the insurance company by saying that entering into negotiations does not necessarily mean that they will pay or are liable.
Your best protection from a insurance adjuster is preparation. You want to go into the negotiations with a figure in mind of the minimum you will accept. You do not tell the adjuster this number, but you will use it to help determine what you do in the negotiations. If they start off with a number already near your minimum that is good news and you can try to adjust that number to get more. If they point out some holes in your case that might make it hard to argue in court, you and your Denver accident attorney may have to revise downward.
Nerves of steel are not required, but self control is. Do not just jump at the first offer because it is probably just a ploy to see how little it will take to placate you. If you were involved in a serious Denver personal injury case, you need to stay strong in negotiations, because once the settlement is over the case can never be re-opened. You want to stay emotionless, but emphasize emotional points that would be likely to get a jury crying to open the defendant's pocketbook.
If the adjuster gives you a low but not unreasonable offer- go forward with negotiations. If the offer is completely unreasonable they are probably just testing you so ask why it is so low and go over every point they give on why. Once you have reached a agreeable number, put that into writing with a letter to the insurance company stating the amount, what that amount covers and when you expect payment.
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