 | John Eck
is the owner of the ECK Agency, Inc., which is an independent insurance agency representing over 80 companies offering life, health, property & casualty insurance. Beginning his career in 1968, he is a Certified Insurance Counselor, a licensed Kansas insurance broker, and has held numerous positions with other related business ventures. Currently an active member of his local School Board, he has also held elected positions on the City Council and Hospital Board in past years. John can be reached at his office by phone at (800) 444-4911, or you may e-mail him at: eck@eckagency.com |
Insurance
2005-11-01 16:19:00
The insurance man - series
: My car was rear ended last month. The person that hit me and their insurance carrier agree to being liable. The damage to my car was minimal - about $300 (I had to replace the bumper). I have incurred $3,100, however, in medical expenses from my chiropractor. These bills will be paid by the insurance carrier of the woman that hit me. They are willing to settle the claim for $5,000. I feel that I deserve at least $6,500 due to the amount of pain and aggravation this has caused me and the possibility of future back problems. I have not lost any work hours. Would it be worth pursuing this in court to try to get what I feel that I deserve? I know that lawyers normally get about 1/3 of settlement. Their first offer to me was $4,600, I then asked for $8,900 (figuring I could come down from there) then they offered the $5,000 which I mentioned earlier. The ball is in my court and I'm debating if I want a lawyer to help me hit it back over the net.
ANSWER: The first thing to remember that it's not really just 1/3 of the settlement if you get a lawyer. It's normally 1/3 if the attorney just writes them a few letters and you settle. If the attorney actually has to file suit (take them to court), he or she usually gets 40% plus costs. This is important as it actually costs quite a bit of money to go to court.There's the filing fee, records fees, expert fees, travel fees, deposition costs, you name it. And it all comes out of your end of the settlement.Another thing to consider is that when you are just a person making a claim, everyone is required to be more interested in helping you. You might call it 'walking you through the system'. Once you have an attorney, you're fair game. It's not the insurance company vs. just a person, it's them vs. your attorney, and once they go into a defense mode, they will play to win. They may go down on the amount of your offer or withdraw it entirely, trying to offset their litigation (lawsuit) expenses. Plus their war chest to fight the case is virtually unlimited once the fight is on.Something to remember also, if you go to court, nothing is sure anymore.It's mostly you telling your story to twelve strangers. They could like you and give you more, dislike you and give you less, or REALLY dislike you and give you nothing (it happens, and more than you would think). It's all a "roll of the dice", as they say. that's why insurance companies try to avoid it, if at all possible.My own opinion is that what they are offering you seems like a lot of money, especially considering the amount of your property damage. I sincerely don't think you would ever see anything like $5000 net (your end) once you start down the road of paying an attorney and paying costs.If you are truly dissatisfied with the amount of their offer, you can always go the Alternative Dispute Resolution route. This would be either a non-binding mediation or a binding arbitration with high and low figures that are mutually agreeable to both of you. Mediation would give you the chance to see what an independent jurist, usually a retired judge, thinks of your case and try to come to a mutually agreeable figure between what you think it's worth and what they think it's worth. Arbitration would work sort of the same way, but whatever value the judge says is binding on both of you. Companies will usually put a little more money on the table to get you to arbitration as they know the file is going to close either way, and they've got the judge's opinion as cover if they have to pay a little more than they thought it was worth.
