After the adjuster has received the claimant’s file from the insurer, it becomes the adjuster’s responsibility to assess the full extent of the claimant’s losses.
First steps in that assessment process
Speak with the insured policyholder, the person that has been pointed to as the one that caused the injury-linked accident. Obtain and read the police report; check for the mention of any witnesses. Also check for mention of any tickets that might have been issued to any of the involved drivers.
Request necessary documents from the claimant, or the Injury Lawyer in Kitchener that is representing the claimant. Conduct an examination of the databases at the insurance company. That should allow for discovery of any claim that was submitted earlier, by the person that has recently reported an accident, and has triggered the creation of the current file.
Study what has been posted on the various social networking sites. Pay special attention to the posted pictures. Any one of those might expose a lack of veracity in the claims that have been placed in the current file.
Many claimants like to share with friends and family news about their personal injury case. Insurers have caught onto that fact, and make a point of checking for evidence of shared information. If it does not match with what the insurance company has been told, the investigated case tends to become weaker.
Attempted actions
Request an authorization for the release of medical records. Claimants without a lawyer should never sign such a release. Those that have hired an attorney should have the attorney study the release form, in order to see if it asks for documents that do not relate to the reported incident.
Request a recorded statement; this could be made during the initial call, following the adjuster’s receipt of the new file. Smart claimants refuse to record such a statement, unless the recording can be made when a lawyer is present.
Use a formula or a computer program to determine the value of the filed case, the one assigned by the insurer. Those calculated or computed values function as adjusters’ guidance, when preparing for the next step, the one that concludes the investigative process.
Make an offer, in order to start the negotiation process. Realize that some adjusters’ approach to this last step would qualify as an attempt to trick the claimant/victim. Some of them invite the victim to settle, before the start of negotiations.
Personal injury lawyers are aware of the chances for utilization of such an unfair tactic. That is why many of them warn their clients. They caution them against falling for the apparent ability to obtain money in a hurry. The amount of money that gets offered tends to be quite small.