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Transcript:
00:03
So, you’ve just got a first offer from the insurance adjuster and you’re thinking about whether to accept it or not. Nine times out of 10, the answer is no. Don’t take the offer. Adjusters are trained to dangle quick money in front of you before you’ve wrapped up medical
00:21
treatment or before you’ve consulted with a lawyer to understand the true value of your case. The one exception is if an insurer opens up with full policy limits as their offer and you’ve confirmed that the defendant doesn’t have deep pockets and that it there’s
00:38
money still on the table. Even then, you still want to verify the policy limits and get an affidavit from the defendant stating that they don’t have a ton of assets or deep pockets that you would be worried about. So, the best way to do that is to talk to an attorney.
00:56
Obviously, when you do get that offer, the first thing that you want to do is do the math. You want to add your medical bills, any income that you’ve lost, any future treatment that you might expect to have to to get, and then kind of assess the damages as far as the
01:12
pain and suffering, and what kind of pain and issues you’ve been living with since the incident. If their check doesn’t add up to that, then move on and get a new offer or talk to an attorney, better yet. Second, if an insurance adjuster is giving you a first offer
01:31
very early on, you should consider the timing. A lot of the times, doctors take a while to see or pain doesn’t come on so soon. And if you do accept an opening offer like that, you may be left holding the bag when your back flares up in 2 weeks or you need to see a specialist
01:50
because of some other issue. So the advice when you do get a first offer, if you are unsure at all, don’t take it. And even if you’re sure, probably don’t take it. Talk to a lawyer first and get some sort of evaluation or consultation and see what the best course of action is.