Car Insurance – 4 Tips For Successful Settlement Negotiating

April 10, 2011 - PRLog -- So, how do you deal with an insurance adjuster?  How do you negotiate effectively with one?

The job of car claims adjusters is to negotiate with you, give you the lowest possible amount.  No, they don’t want to cheat you. They, at least the company they represent, want you to be happy.  So, the adjusters want to offer you the lowest possible amount that would make you happy.  At the same time, they have to offer no more than what would make the company they represent happy.

They start low because they know they’re negotiating.  Of course, if they start low and you accept, they’re just going to assume you’re happy with the low offer and give it to you, not a penny more.

That said, they’re in a hurry, they have lots of open cases so they can’t do a great job of researching your case.  

Tips for Negotiating Car Insurance Settlements

1.   Know the lowest number you’re going to accept before you begin negotiating.  Makes it harder for the adjuster to push you into accepting something too low.  (This number you keep to yourself.)  The number has to be based on reality, on research.

2.   Don’t accept the first settlement offer.  The role of a first settlement offer is to figure out how you respond, how desperate, anxious you are.  Of course, if you accept it, the insurance company will be quite happy to settle.  So, ask yourself if the first offer is reasonable.  You’ll know what to do as soon as you answer yourself.

If it’s not, challenge it.  The way to challenge is to challenge the evaluation report (It’s based on the average sale price of cars like yours.  If your car was above average for its make and model, you shouldn’t get an average settlement.  You could ask them to only use the top comparables because your car was in top condition.)

Always ask “How come you’re offering so little?”  You need to make them explain their reasons for the settlement offer.  Might be that they don’t have all the facts, might be that they’re bluffing.  But if you know how they came up with the offer, you’re ahead.  The explanation has to make sense.

If you still think the adjuster is off, hire your own car appraiser.  

3.   If you need to adjust downwards your demand, do it in small increments, go 5-10% lower not 30%, for instance.  (With 5-10%, you don’t lose much and still show you’re willing to negotiate, reasonable.)

4.   Go lower once, then wait for the adjuster to come up.  Try to go down half of the amount or percentage the adjuster goes up.  Remember, adjusters want to settle: they’ve got quite a few cases besides yours and more are coming in.

You did pay premiums like you agreed to, didn’t you?  So, you deserve to get the full value of your car.  

To get more tips on car insurance, visit http://www.swias.com.  Statewide Insurance of Skokie has been helping people get great car insurance for over 12 years.  You can find them online at hhttp://www.swias.com.

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