How Do Insurance Companies Look Into Missouri Personal Injury Claims?
When a person is involved in any kind of accident causing personal injury or death, they will usually have grounds for filing a claim with a negligent party’s insurance company to seek some sort of financial compensation for their losses. Many people wonder exactly what happens when a person files an injury claim and how an insurer decides how much money it will pay a person.
Missouri personal injury law can be incredibly complex, so it is always recommended that people be sure to work with an experienced St. Louis personal injury lawyer who can assist them in recovering as much as possible. People certainly have the right to file their injury claims on their own and negotiate their own settlements to their cases, but statistics routinely show that people who retain legal counsel are paid far more than individuals who represent themselves.
How Insurance Companies Handle Claims in Missouri
It is important to understand the different kinds of insurance claims people can file in Missouri, as people filing claims with their own insurers are filing first-party claims while people filing claims with the insurers of other parties are filing third-party claims. Whereas an insurance company is evaluating compensation for its own customer with a first-party claim, it is considering compensation for somebody else when it is dealing with a third-party claim.
Virtually all claims will be handled by claims adjusters who then try to speak to the parties involved in an accident. An adjuster will be seeking additional information about an accident, and every person will want to ensure they have legal representation before speaking to any adjuster.
Insurance adjusters then begin to pore through numerous documents connected to an accident, such as a police report, medical bills, and property damage claims. Most insurance companies have software programs that allow them to simply plug in different elements and compute an estimated settlement amount for the case, and people should be aware that nearly all initial settlement offers from insurance companies are well below the actual amount of compensation people are actually entitled to.
Claims adjusters have a goal of paying as little as possible to resolve an injury claim but they are also motivated to avoid possible litigation connected to the claim because the cost of going to trial will be even more expensive than settling the case. Insurance companies generally want to keep personal injury cases out of court because it can be easy for a victim to take a case before a judge or jury and prove that another party’s negligence caused their injuries, which can result in a sizable award of damages.
People need to understand how the limits of insurance policies can complicate offers from insurance companies because they will only pay up to the limits of a policy, and some people may need to know what options they have when policy limits will not be enough to pay the compensation that is needed. Insurance companies will use a wide variety of factors to consider what kind of settlement offer they will extend in these cases, including how long a person will be out of work, whether there will be a full recovery, and the strength of a victim’s legal arguments.
Call Us Today to Schedule a Free Consultation with a St. Louis Personal Injury Attorney
Did you recently suffer major injuries or was your loved one killed in any kinds of accident that was caused by the negligence of another party in the greater St. Louis area? You will want to be working with Bruntrager & Billings, P.C. so you can know that you have a team of legal professionals on your side.
Our firm will be able to thoroughly examine the details of your case and help you determine the best path forward so you are able to recover everything you are entitled to.
Call (314) 646-0066 or contact us online to receive a free consultation with our St. Louis personal injury attorney.