Should you accept an insurance company’s initial settlement offer?

After getting into a crash with another vehicle, you ended up in the hospital for weeks. You needed surgery and had to go through rehabilitation. You can’t return to work, and your spouse had to give up their job to take care of you.

This has been an expensive injury that has caused financial strain. You made a claim against the driver’s insurance. Their insurance company offered to settle for what you think is reasonable, but you’re not sure.

Should you take the offer that you’re given?

The answer is no. You should not take the first settlement offer you’re approached with, even if you think it’s a good deal. You need to speak with your attorney before accepting or rejecting the offer, because insurance companies do tend to send lower offers than they should. This is called lowballing, and it’s done because it has the potential to save the insurance company a significant amount of money.

Unfortunately, if you do accept a lowball offer, you will not usually be able to pursue more compensation from the insurance company, and you may receive much less than what your insurance claim was actually worth.

Why is it important to work with an experienced personal injury attorney when looking at settlement offers?

When you are reviewing a settlement offer, it’s a good idea to take it to your attorney to have them look over it. Texas allows you to claim for any verifiable economic losses related to your injury. These might include medical costs, lost wages, funeral costs or other financial losses.

Initially, an insurance company may offer much less than what’s reasonable, especially if it has not considered the addition of noneconomic damages. Your attorney can help you seek noneconomic damages as well, such as compensation for your family members’ lost wages while they were caring for you.

An insurance company may make it seem like their offer is the best you’ll get, but that’s not likely to be true. Your attorney will talk over the case with you, review your medical documents and other losses, and give you a better idea of how your claim should be valued.