We all think that we will never have to file a claim, and when that happens, we will have to negotiate with our car insurer’s adjuster to get the best settlement possible. That might be seems to be easier said than to be done.
Even if your car insurance adjuster’s may look like friendly, s/he’s not, adjusters work for car insurers, so must know what can you do in any case. The following tips can help you navigate the negotiation process and maximize your payout.
Understand your policy and coverage
Before you start negociating with an adjuster, you must know what your policy covers and what not. To do so, you must understand your policy. Comprehensive coverage policies protects your car against non-collision damages like theft, vandalism, fires, floods, natural disassters falling objects, among others. You must also know what are the limits of your policy and the deductibles you set. This way you will figure out what can you negotiate with your car insurer’s adjuster.
I wrote 2 related posts related to the comprehensive coverage limists and the deductibles:
How to Choose the Right Comprehensive Coverage Insurance Deductible
Understanding Comprehensive Coverage Car Insurance Limits
Document the damage or loss
The first thing you must do before negotiating with an ajuster is document everything well, take pictures and/or videos of the damaged parts of your vehicle, get the copy of the police report, in addition ask a trusted mechanic to prepare a quotation of the stimate repair costs of your vehicle. Once you have all this documents, you will be able to support your claim and have a based foundation of the amount of money you really need to repair your car when while negotiating with your car insurer’s adjuster.
Be prepared to negotiate
Now it’s time to negotiate with your car insurer’s adjuster, your car adjuster will make a calculus of the amount you will receive to repair your vehicle. That’s why you must have all the previous documentation ready to base a counteroffer. To get the approximate amount of money you want to repair your car, I recommend you to increase 20% the repair costs your trusted mechanic told you. The adjuster will always set a way lower offer than what you’re asking for (just like when you go to a pawn shop and and you have to bargain).
For example:
Your car insurer’s adjuster tells you the repair costs hood of your vehicle will costs $250, but your trusted mechanic told you the repair costs of your vehicle’s hood will costs $500, in that case you must show that adjuster the quotation of the car hood, and you must explain him why your car insurer must give you that amonut of money to repair your car hood. Your car adjuster won’t give you $500, but you may bargain with him or her and obtain $350 or $400 from car insurer.
Stay calm and professional
Negotiating with an adjuster can be a stressful and emotional process, I know that might sound hard, but you must remain calm and proffessional. If you let yourself drive the negotiation from your feelings, you will fail, and you won’t get a fair settlement. You msut avoid looking defensive or angry. You must focus to get the right settlement, think the questions logically, you can’t compromise your possition being angry with an adjuster that as I told you above, s/he’s working for your car insurer.
Don't settle too quickly
Adjusters want to make you feel some sense of rush, they expect you don’t have enough time to think carefully about everything, so they can try to give you less money than what you really deserve for your comprehensive coverage claim you filed. In the other hand, they can also try to delay as much as they can the settlement, letting you no time to negotiate, but you must keep claim. Take your time, and think about the offers and counteroffers your adjuster is offering you.
Hire a public adjuster
When you can’t reach an agreement with your car adjuster, you can always hire a public adjuster, your adjuster will argue with your car insurer’s adjuster. Public adjuster are licensed proffesionals that can negotiate with your car insurer’s adjuster, their job is to help you get the best settlement for your claim. Keep in mind you will have to pay a certain percentage amount of moeny to that public adjuster for his or her job, but it’s really worth the money when you suffered a serious accident with your car and you really need to receive a lot of money from your claim.
This is a post I wrote about car insurer’s adjusters:
How can I know if my Insurance adjuster is doing a good job?
Know your rights
Finally, you must know your rights, when you negotiate with an ajuster, you must know your car insurer is legally requied to act in good faith and give you a fair settlement. If you feel your car insurer is acting in bad faith, you can consult to a lawyer and file a complaint with your state’s insurance commisioner.
Conclusion
Negotiating with an insurance adjuster for a comprehensive claim can be a challenging, your car insurer’s adjuster is not your friend, but it’s not your rival neither, that person is doing his/her job. If you document everything (taking pictures, getting the police report, asking to a trusted mechanic the average repair costs of your vehicle), you will be ready to face any adjuster and get a fair settlement for your claim.
Remember, if your claim is too complex, and you can’t reach an agreement with your car insurer’s adjuster, you can always hire a public adjuster that will help you get the best settlement for your claim. Do not set your claim too quickly, think carefully what is your car insurer offering you for your claim, take your time to sign the settlement. If everything fails, you can consider hire an attoney to fight your case for you.
Other readers were also interested in the following posts:
How to Handle Disputes with Your Comprehensive Insurance Provider
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