What To Do When The Insurance Adjuster Is Stalling Over Your Settlement Talks
Posted on: 3 March 2015
What do you do when your adjuster refuses to make a serious offer or seems to be engaged in stalling tactics? Deal with the situation by:
Bringing Up Lawsuit Talks
Threaten your adjuster with a lawsuit and see how he or she reacts. Adjusters don't like lawsuits because it costs their companies money, and they may even be moved off their cases. To prevent such an eventuality, the adjuster may respond to your threat of a lawsuit by making a serious offer to you.
There are three things, however, that you should know before issuing such a threat:
- It can only work if the adjuster was merely stalling but is convinced that you have a genuine claim.
- Be prepared to hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit if the adjuster doesn't react positively to your threats.
- It will only work if a lawsuit is possible in your case; some insurance policies specify arbitration instead.
Asking To Speak To the Supervisor
Although the adjuster may be the point person when it comes to claim settlement, he or she isn't the only person who knows about your case. Ask your adjuster about his or her immediate supervisor or the claims manager; either of these persons may help with your claim.
When you request a meeting with the supervisor, the adjuster may:
- Up the settlement
- Ask for some time and continue stalling
- Talk to the supervisor and get back to you
Your reaction depends on the answer you get from the adjuster. For example, if he or she promises to get back to you on the issue, but continues stalling, then you can write or call the company directly and ask for the supervisor. Ask for an official position of the company on your claim so that you can know how to make your next move.
Talking to an Attorney
If you are still not making any headway, then it might be time to talk to a personal injury attorney. If you still want to be involved in your case, then you should look for a lawyer who can help you on an hourly basis. This way the lawyer helps you with the technical and legal knowledge, as well as tips for your case, but you are still in the driver's seat, so to speak.
Note, however, that there comes a time when you have to file a lawsuit or bring up a bad faith claim. This can be easy if you had consulted a lawyer because he or she will know when to call it quits with the adjuster and go to court. Don't forget that some cases have statutes of limitations, and waiting beyond that time may cost you your case.
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