After a car accident, you might feel like you have no control over what happens next. Insurance companies will contact you, ask some questions, and offer you a settlement. It’s not much money—but it’s all you’re likely to get. If you don’t take their offer, they won’t come back with a better one.
That probably sounds unfair, but isn’t it true of almost every negotiation? In that case, why wouldn’t you take the first reasonable offer?
Because car accidents are very different from other negotiations in one crucial way: If you plan to settle for as little money as possible, then this post is for you. There are hidden costs and risks associated with settling for a small amount after an accident.
You could end up spending thousands more on things like medical bills or legal fees because of that initial low settlement. From the outside looking in, many people think hiring a lawyer is the only way to go if you want the best outcome possible from an accident settlement, and we can see why that would be so. However, it may not be your best option depending on
Why You Shouldn’t Always Hire a Lawyer After an Accident
There are plenty of reasons that hiring a lawyer may not be the best strategy. First, you don’t know how the accident will turn out. The other driver may have lots of insurance, or they might be underinsured, which means they won’t have enough money to cover all your injuries and damage to your vehicle.
If that’s the case, you might come out ahead by not hiring a lawyer and collecting as much as you can on your own by making a prompt settlement offer. Second, hiring a lawyer is costly, and you’ll have to pay that money upfront. In that case, you’ll have to take a lower settlement offer now just to be able to pay off the attorney’s fees. If you don’t get any money from your insurance company and you’ve already paid off your attorney, you’ve lost money.
The Hidden Costs of Settling Immediately
After a car accident, you may be eager to get your medical bills paid and your car repaired as quickly as possible, but you may be overlooking the hidden costs of accepting a quick settlement. In some cases, insurance companies may only offer you a fraction of what you’d like or deserve after an accident. If you accept that low settlement, you may be stuck paying the rest out of pocket.
A few thousand dollars in medical bills or car repair costs certainly doesn’t sound like a major issue, but if you add it up over a lifetime, it can be a big deal. If you have insurance, those expenses may be covered, but even if they are, you’ll have to wait for the insurance company to process your claim, and that can take a long time. That can lead to late fees and interest charges on your bills. If you don’t have insurance, you’ll have to pay out of pocket and those expenses will be even higher.
Once you’ve paid your bills, those expenses may be gone, but you’ve lost something else: any future opportunity to recover compensation from the other driver’s insurance company. If you don’t settle for a reasonable amount up front, you may be able to get more money later. But if you accept a quick settlement, you may lose the opportunity to get more money.
Standard Negotiation Strategies
Two standard negotiation strategies can help you get a higher settlement amount: the cost-benefit or cost-effectiveness analysis and the BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) approach. These strategies are useful for anyone, but they’re especially useful if you decide not to hire a lawyer and want to get the best possible settlement amount.
The cost-benefit analysis tells you to first determine the cost of your injuries and the value of your damages (your car, medical bills, etc.). Then you should multiply that number by the percentage chance that you’ll win your case. If the number you get is higher than the amount the other driver has offered you, you’re in a good negotiating position.
The second negotiation strategy, the BATNA approach, uses the same calculation, but with the amount of money, you can get on your own without a lawyer. If the amount you can get on your own is higher, that’s a good indicator that you should reject the other driver’s offer and let them know you’ll go to court.
Why Lawyers Don’t Always Recommend Settling Immediately
Lawyers work on a contingency basis, meaning they only get paid if you win your lawsuit. If they recommend that you immediately settle for the first offer you receive, they’re not just being nice. They’re hoping that you’ll take the quick offer so that they can collect their fee without having to go to court. If you don’t take the first offer that you receive, the other driver’s insurance company may come back with a higher offer.
So if a lawyer advises you to reject an initial low offer and go to court, you might assume that they don’t want to collect a fee from you. But that’s not necessarily true. They may advise you to go to court for any of several other reasons: You may not have proof that the other driver caused the accident. If you don’t have proof, you can’t win your lawsuit, so it’s better to take the quick offer. Your attorney may know that you have a strong case but think you can get a higher amount in court.
Negotiating Strategies With or Without a Lawyer
If you decide not to hire a lawyer and to negotiate the terms of your auto accident settlement yourself, what are the best strategies? Finally, you should be aware of the times when it’s better not to negotiate at all. If you’re in pain or exhausted, these are not good times to negotiate. If you’re close to being overwhelmed by your injuries and medical bills, don’t negotiate.
If you’re close to your state’s statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit, don’t negotiate. If you’re close to your state’s threshold for being “underinsured,” don’t negotiate. If you’re about to be offered a settlement, here are some negotiation strategies that could help you get a better deal: Start by asking for the maximum amount.
Then, when the other party comes back with a lower offer, start counting the reasons why their offer is too low. If it will help you come up with reasons why their offer is too low, make a list of your injuries and their estimated cost. How long do they take to heal? What is the daily cost of treating them?
Conclusion
If you’ve been involved in a car accident, you’ll need to take the time to understand your rights and obligations. It’s important to know what you might be entitled to and what you need to do to make sure you get the money you deserve. Negotiating a settlement is one of the best ways to increase the amount of money you receive after an accident. It’s not easy, though, and can be a lot more challenging if you don’t have any experience dealing with insurance companies. If you decide not to hire a lawyer, you’ll need to use some specialized negotiation strategies.
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