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Traffic Accident Insurance Claims Article
By Dan Baldyga
Adjuster Henry Hard-Nose is not without outside
pressures he must deal with every day. You should be aware
of the most important of these because if understood they’ll
put money in your bank.
The first of these is your State Department
Of Insurance. Every state has a Department, or Commissioner,
or Bureau of Insurance that overseas the antics of a Henry
Hard-Nose in that particular state. Each has a Consumer Complaint
Division. If the adjuster you’ve been dealing with has
refused to make any offer at all, has engaged in what you
consider to be unethical conduct, or has made what you believe
is a ridiculously low offer, you have cause for a complaint.
The mere mention of a complaint to the State
Department of Insurance may bring Hard-Nose around to making
a better offer. Adjusters would rather not have to deal with
a complaint and they positively don’t want copies of
them ending up in their personnel file.
Your complaint to the State Insurance Department
will accomplish several things. First, his boss will now become
aware that there’s a claimant (you) who intends to do
whatever it takes to obtain some settlement dollars. That
will often inspire that person to take a closer look at your
case and come up with a better offer. Also, if indeed you
write to the Consumer Complaints Division it will evolve into
what’s always a costly effort because a complaint with
the State Insurance Department will add an additional layer
of work, supervised by an extra contingent of personnel. When
it’s realized this will likely come to pass they’ll
try harder to dump your claim.
Like the vast majority of insurance adjusters
Hard-Nose dreams of one day being promoted to a higher position
within the company he work’s for. In his black heart
Hard-Nose is aware of the fact if his personnel file has correspondence
flowing into it from claimants he’s handled (plus copies
of the letters which have been sent to the insurance commissioner)
those will, somewhere down the line, be read by one of his
companies executives. In many instances this will be a man
who doesn’t want a “problem” employee like
a Henry Hard-Nose spluttering, splashing and crashing about
his office area causing headaches and extra work within the
framework of that particular executive’s command. Hard
Nose is fully aware that such complaints will keep him , out
on the road forever, and will surely prevent him from moving
up that slippery corporate ladder.
OTHER CRUCIAL ISSUES THAT HENRY HARD-NOSE IS
AWARE OF
When it comes to the reality of the way things
work in the actual, daily, experience of personal injury claim
negotiations and settlement, it’s vastly different from
the stipulations found in the “Formal law”. That
is, legal theory, as it’s written and allegedly supposed
to work. What that means is simply this: Hard-Nose can settle
a case whether his decision to do so is based on “The
Law” or not.
In the real world of Personal Injury settlements
“compromise” (one which has nothing to do with
"The Law") is the order of the day. It’s commonly
accepted among those is the business (because that’s
what makes their work life so much easier) that in any given
case there’s almost a likelihood of negligence on both
sides, rather than just one driver. What this boils down to
in practical terms, is this: Irregardless of the law practically
no claim is without merit or totally lacking in value of some
sort, especially if the “value” is simply to “get
rid of it”. I know this to be true because, “I’ve
been there and done that”. However (and Hard-Nose is
totally aware of this) that concept has nothing to do with
"The Law " !
Although it’s never expressed to him “officially”
Hard-Nose quickly learns, should your case go to trail, compromise
will usually be the order of the day, even in cases of questionable
liability. This fact alone gives him plenty of room to make
a compromise settlement before your case ends up in his Defense
Attorney’s hands where a compromise will (somewhere
along the line) usually take place anyways!
YOU ASK: "Why will this come to pass"?
THE ANSWER TO THAT ONE IS VERY SIMPLE: "Because the costs
of preparing for (and then proceeding into) a courtroom battle
will skyrocket".
Being aware of all of this is always bubbling
and boiling in that gray matter between Hard-Nose’s
ears. If there’s any question whatsoever, regarding
who was at fault in the accident you were involved in, don’t
ever give up. Keep pounding away! When faced with a determined
claimant (you) who’s willing to wait and haggle and
wont go away, the chances are Hard-Nose will eventually make
an offer.
This will happen because Hard-Nose (especially
if your claim has some value) doesn’t want it to end
up as a complaint at the State Department Of Insurance. Plus
he knows you’ll be made, a settlement offer, somewhere
down the line, anyway. So, better he settle it now, before
the cost of defending it gets blown out of proportion, later.
In order to continue to look good (especially
to those who watch his progress and the way handles the outside
pressure’s that haunt every adjuster) Henry Hard-Nose,
who wants to stay out of trouble plus continue to climb the
ladder to success, must be a cagey individual. For you to
understand and aware of this (if properly understood and handled)
will most assuredly be to your financial advantage.
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DISCLAIMER:
The purpose of this article "OUTSIDE
PRESSURE" is for all readers to understand the motor
vehicle accident claim process. Neither Dan Baldyga, Scott
Baker, I GOT HIT, LLC, and/or the Accident Resource make any
guarantee of any kind whatsoever, NOR do they purport to engage
in rendering any professional or legal service; NOR to substitute
for a lawyer, an insurance adjuster, or claims consultant,
or the like. Where such professional help is desired it is
THE INDIVIDUAL’S RESPONSIBILITY to obtain said services.
Dan Baldyga’s third and latest book,
AUTO ACCIDENT PERSONAL INJURY INSURANCE CLAIM (How To Evaluate
And Settle Your Loss) can be found on the internet at http://www.caraccidentclaims.com
or http://www.autoaccidentclaims.com.
This book reveals “How To” handle your property
damage claim so you won’t be taken advantage of. It
also goes into detail regarding BASE (The Baldyga Auto Accident
Settlement Evaluation Formula). THE BASE FORMULA explains
how to determine the value of the “Pain and Suffering”
you endured - - because of your personal injury!
Copyright (c) 2004 By Daniel G. Baldyga.
All Rights Reserved.
Dan Baldyga - Author
dbpaw@comcast.net
AUTO ACCIDENT PERSONAL INJURY INSURANCE CLAIM
(How To Evaluate And Settle Your Loss)
http://www.autoaccidentclaims.com
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