During the give and take that is part of the pre-settlement process, the adjuster negotiates with the claimant.
All adjusters have a boss.
That boss judges the adjuster’s performance by the size of the agreed-upon payout. When that payout remains low, the adjuster’s boss looks more favorably on his or her performance. The adjuster’s boss also keeps track of how long it took for the claimant to agree to a settlement figure. As a rule, adjusters’ bosses tend to prefer a short negotiation period.
All adjusters have the same assigned duty.
Each of them must clear or close whatever file has been assigned to them. A careful investigation must precede any clearing or closing of a file. That investigation involves an examination of the claimant’s medical records, even though the adjuster has not acquired expertise in the medical field.
The personal injury lawyer in Spruce Grove knows that investigation should offer clues to what happened before and during the injury-causing accident. Yet, adjusters’ knowledge of any given accident remains limited. Typically, the claimant knows more about what took place during that particular collision.
Every adjuster has been granted a certain amount of authority.
An adjuster’s level of authority reflects the maximize size for any settlement that the adjuster could agree-to, at the conclusion of negotiations. If the claimant’s demand were to exceed that minimal figure, then the adjuster would need to consult with his or her supervisor.
The supervisor’s role reveals the reason that a claimant’s bid might not trigger a quick response from the insurance company. Sometimes adjusters’ decisions require a supervisor’s confirmation. Still, most adjusters have learned over time approximately how long it should take to obtain such a confirmation.
How might a claimant benefit from an understanding of the multi-step process that manages to yield a specific bid?
Claimants that demonstrate both patience and persistence get the best results. It does not help to become impatient with an adjuster that must speak with a supervisor. Yet it does make sense to ask when the supervisor’s input should be received.
By the same token, it does not help to pester an adjuster for a bid that he or she does not have the authority to offer. On the other hand, it speaks well for a claimant’s persistence, if he or she contacts the adjuster’s office on the date that has been mentioned during an earlier phone call.
So, supervisors grant their adjusters a certain level of authority, as each of them works to clear a file. The claimant that is associated with that same file should strive to understand what takes place at the conclusion of that same claimant’s call to the insurance company. Those would be the events that should decide next bid’s size.