Guide to Writing Demand Letter to the Insurance Company

After a car accident, it can be daunting to begin the settlement process on your own. it may have taken him weeks or even months to fully heal from his injuries, if that is even possible. Now, you’ve returned to school or work, and it’s finally time to get reimbursed for your pain and suffering, medical bills, and property damage so you can settle your case once and for all and get over the trauma of being involved. in a collision that wasn’t your fault.

Reading: How to write letter to insurance company for claim

To make sure you receive the full and fair settlement you deserve, it’s important to know what insurance adjusters look at in every injury claim to help them determine the dollar value of that case. It’s also worth understanding how to present the facts of your case to the insurance adjuster in the most effective way possible.

Here at Scholle Law, our Duluth car accident attorneys have successfully resolved hundreds of cases and have over 20 years of experience dealing with insurance companies and adjusters. In that time, we’ve collected some “best practices” when it comes to writing demand letters to insurers. In this article, we’ll summarize these tips.

1. organize your expenses

Before you start writing, the first step is to gather all your receipts and out-of-pocket expenses related to the accident. Insurance adjusters will generally base their settlement offers on expenses incurred as a result of the accident, such as medical bills incurred from treatment, prescriptions purchased for injuries sustained, lost income due to inability to work, repair bills for any property damage sustained (such as your vehicle), loss of irreplaceable items, etc. these are known as “special damages”.

Each personal injury case will look a little different depending on the specific types of special damages incurred in that individual case, but these are generally out-of-pocket expenses that can be determined by adding up all losses incurred from the accident.

Once you’ve gathered all of your medical records, lost wages, and bills and receipts to give to the insurance adjuster, it’s time to start writing!

2. establish the facts

Think of your demand letter as a complete and comprehensive explanation of your car accident experience. Often, it’s best to write under the assumption that the reader knows nothing about what happened in the accident or with their subsequent medical treatment.

start with the accident itself. explain where you were at the time of the crash, including street names. let the adjuster know what he was doing. Did you come to a complete stop waiting for traffic or a red light and were suddenly rear ended? Or maybe he was driving in your travel lane when someone pulled up in front of you.

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the point of impact, try to explain it to the best of your ability as clearly as possible. If you have a copy of the car accident report, use it to indicate the exact date, time, and street names. You may also have information about the at-fault driver and whether the reporting officer on the scene issued any citations. it may also contain witness statements.

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All of these items are important because you want to explain why your insured is responsible for the accident.

3. share your perspective

After the facts about how and when the car accident occurred have been established, it’s time to describe what happened to you after the collision. for some, this begins immediately after impact.

Tell the adjuster what you remember and how the pain started. For example, if you remember hitting your head on the window or his knee pushing against the dashboard, include that in your demand letter to the insurance company. While your medical records will show the adjuster what your post-crash treatments were, only you know what happened to the vehicle at the time of impact.

Also, only you know how much pain you felt, so clearly explain to the insurance adjuster exactly when you started experiencing pain and in what areas of your body. for some, that may be immediate. for others, the pain may not register until hours or days after the accident, once the adrenaline has subsided and muscle aches and pain begin to set in.

4. detail your path to recovery

Once you’ve explained to the adjuster how the accident happened and when your symptoms started, it’s time to outline your medical treatment. this may have started at the scene of the accident if you were treated by paramedics or transported to the emergency room by ambulance. Your medical care could also have started in the days or weeks after the motor vehicle collision if you had not been able to report to a doctor’s office until then.

Either way, you want to explain when and where you were seen by a doctor, as well as the reason why you had to go to the doctor ( such as what symptoms you were experiencing) and what treatment was provided. in fact, you want to do this throughout the course and extent of treatment.

This could include treatment from a primary care physician who prescribed some pain or anti-inflammatory medication and then referred you to a physical therapist. It could be a visit to the emergency room that resulted in a physical exam and some X-rays, CT scans, or MRIs. Or it could also be a chiropractic visit where you received some spinal manipulation.

For some people, a few visits and some medication may have been all it took to make their lesions go away. but for others, it can take weeks or even months of physical therapy, injections, or worse, surgery. Since no 2 people recover exactly the same way, it’s imperative that you make sure the insurance adjuster understands exactly how your road to recovery went.

5. acknowledge and emphasize your pain and suffering

Regardless of the course and extent of treatment, it is important to remember to emphasize your pain and suffering. While your medical records will clearly explain what the doctor did, it’s up to you to make sure the adjuster understands how he felt and how the injuries he was experiencing affected his daily activities.

For example, if you couldn’t go to the gym because your back hurt too much, or you couldn’t carry groceries home because the weight was too heavy for your shoulders, include that in your demand letter. Clarifying the pain and suffering you experience may help increase the settlement offer presented by the insurance company because these are examples of “general damages.”

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general damages represent the types of losses that cannot be easily assigned a monetary value. Examples of general damages include:

• pain and suffering: the pain and emotional distress endured as a result of the accident
• emotional trauma: can include depression, anxiety, insomnia and more
• loss of consortium: the loss of companionship or the benefits of married life, such as the ability to show affection
• future medical attention: ongoing medical treatments or recommended surgery
• general reduction in quality of life: this can occur if an accident has left you with some type of permanent disability, scar or disfigurement)

6. request a reasonable settlement amount

Once you have explained to the adjuster what happened in the accident, the injuries you sustained, and the course of treatment you underwent to recover, it is time to request a settlement amount. this is a specific dollar amount that will compensate you for all of your financial losses, including your medical bills, out-of-pocket expenses, lost wages, and non-economic damages, such as your pain and suffering.

It is important to note that this number should be higher than what you think your claim is actually worth so that you can negotiate with the insurance adjuster if they come back with a settlement offer that is lower than desired. however, you should also be realistic in your settlement figure.

Ultimately, you want the insurance adjuster to work with you on an acceptable settlement amount that you can both agree on. Asking for an unreasonably high amount up front may cause the adjuster not to take your claim seriously.

A general rule of thumb is to demand double or even triple the amount of your total special damage.

7. check your letter and send it!

When you have completely written your demand letter to the insurance company, review it one last time before sending it to the at-fault driver’s insurance company. Make sure you have a full and complete description of how the collision occurred, an overview of the injuries you sustained and the medical treatment you received, as well as the pain and suffering you experienced and how that affected your daily life.

Finally, make sure the letter clearly states the settlement number you are requesting. And don’t forget to attach all the supporting documents you collected to the demand letter to the insurance company. This should include medical records, bills, out-of-pocket expenses, lost wages, and evidence of the accident that proves liability, such as the car accident report and photographs of the scene, property damage, or injury.

writing a demand letter to an insurance company is not easy

Now that you have a general idea of ​​how insurance companies value claims, you will be better equipped to settle your personal injury claim. It is important to remember that insurance companies are businesses first and foremost. The adjuster’s job is to either get you to settle your case for the least amount possible or find a way to deny your personal injury claim altogether.

Often, you will be offered less than you think you are owed, but please understand that this is a normal part of the process and should not be taken personally. While it can be a frustrating process, it’s important to make sure you get the full value of what your claim is worth.

Fortunately, you don’t have to solve your case on your own. If you discover that an insurance company is trying to defraud your personal injury settlement, you can always contact an experienced Duluth personal injury attorney for advice. At Scholle Law, we’ve written thousands of demand letters and can help you craft the perfect letter that will ensure you receive the maximum settlement you deserve.

Contact us today for your free consultation.

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