A lawyer can gather more documents (such as medical receipts and reparation evaluations) to show why you deserve a higher settlement. The longer back and forth with an insurance company, the longer the deal negotiations will take. If the two parties cannot agree, negotiations will go to court. Your lawyer will likely go back and forth with the insurance company many times when negotiating a settlement.
You may even have to go to mediation. Mediation is a process in which both parties meet to present evidence and negotiate in person. The insurance company generally offers its best final offer during mediation. While you may have already had to wait a considerable amount of time to get all of your medical and income records, try not to rush too quickly to resolve your claim.
One of the tactics that claims adjusters use is to make a low initial settlement offer and see if you are too impatient to continue trading. If you can wait, don't jump to the first offer. Holding for a while often increases your settlement. After a while, the appraiser will want to resolve your claim as soon as possible, and then you can get the full value of your claim.
Reaching a successful settlement agreement generally involves determining an amount that the responsible party must pay in compensation. The decision on that number usually includes a round trip exchange with the two parties negotiating bids to reach an agreed amount. If you have hired an attorney, let them negotiate with the adjuster on your behalf. The insurance company will examine your injury the same way your lawyer did.
You should expect the insurer to know everything there is to know about your case. You will have to make a counteroffer lower than the amount you initially requested, but higher than the amount offered by the adjuster. After some additional negotiations, both parties can agree on a settlement amount that is somewhere in between their initial offers.
