Insurance adjusters use a standard formula, along with other factors, in order to determine the value of a given injury claim.
What numbers get inserted into that formula?
The claimant’s medical expenses: The total from all of the claimant’s medical bills
The value of the lost wages for the recovering victim
A numerical representation for the victim’s pain and suffering
—This figure is called the multiplier
—The multiplier is one factor in a multiplication operation. The other factor is the total for the medical expenses. That total reflects the size of bills for both treatment and diagnostic procedures.
Do adjusters always use the same number for the multiplier?
No, the size of that figure reflects the degree to which the victim has suffered discomforts or losses. Various aspects of the victim’s injury could determine the size the multiplier’s size:
• Amount of pain experienced by victim
• Length of treatment for injury that has caused the pain
• The degree to which the administered treatment was invasive: Was surgery used to treat or correct the injury? Was it necessary to use an invasive diagnostic procedure, in order to determine the exact nature and extent of the reported injury?
• The length of the recovery period for the injured patient/victim
Most multipliers fall within this range: 1.5 to 5
What is the significance of the result obtained by using the formula?
After performing the multiplication operation, the adjuster obtains a product. The number representing the salary for the claimant gets added to that product. That is the result for utilization of the formula, as per personal injury lawyer in Bowmanville.
That result serves as the starting point for reaching a negotiated settlement. Other factors determine the final figure that is presented by adjuster as the initial bid/offer.
—Was there evidence of shared blame? Did the evidence indicate that more than one party was responsible for the injury-causing accident?
—What were the policy limits? The adjuster would have access to the insurance policy of the responsible party. The insurance company would never agree to pay more than the stated limit in that same policy.
—Does the claimant have a lawyer? An experienced adjuster would never present a low-ball bid to a claimant/victim that had hired a lawyer. Lawyers could tell whether or not an adjuster had carried out such an action.
A hired attorney could help a client to respond to a low-ball offer. That response should entail a request for an explanation. That request could push the adjuster to come forward with a more reasonable offer.
Lawyers understand how to avoid stalemates, and to keep the claim’s process moving forward. That forward-looking movement helps to ensure the ability for both of the disputing parties to arrive at a mutual agreement.
