Will the Insurer Settle With My Personal Injury Attorney in Seattle?
Posted Monday, April 22, 2013 by Chris Thayer
When you hire a personal injury attorney in Seattle, you may expect that the insurer will settle your case right away. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. There are many reasons why an insurer may prefer to take a claim to court rather than settling. Some of these have very little to do with the merits of your claim.
Building a Reputation
Insurers don’t want to be known for settling cases easily. Developing a reputation for settling claims to avoid court invites frivolous lawsuits. Insurance companies have to take claims to trial, at least occasionally.
Sometimes, an insurer may take a hard-line position against you just because you happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. If an insurer has just made a huge settlement, he or she may take your relatively small claim to trial just to assert that he or she can still try cases.
Money Isn’t Everything
Insurers are, ultimately, profit-driven, but sometimes giving up some money in the short term will lead to savings in the long term. Don’t think that just because your claim is not worth a lot of money, the insurer won’t take it to trial.
It is not unheard of for insurers to spend tens of thousands of dollars defending a claim when they could have settled with a personal injury attorney in Seattle for much less.
Chain of Command
As a personal injury attorney in Seattle will tell you, insurance adjusters aren’t paying your claim with their own money. So why do they seem so stingy with settlements? Insurance companies have a well-defined chain of command, and every adjuster will have his or her performance reviewed by someone higher up.
Just as the insurance company doesn’t want a reputation for paying out frivolous claims, the adjuster doesn’t want to be known for paying big settlements just to get files off of his or her desk. His or her ability to settle cases for small sums of money can factor into his or her next raise or promotion.
Increase Your Chances of a Favorable Settlement
One of the best things you can do to increase your chances of a favorable settlement is contact a personal injury attorney in Seattle. If you are not already represented, please call Chris Thayer at (206) 340-2008.