Yes, you can challenge a low settlement offer, and after a Gulfport car accident or truck crash, you probably should.
The first number an insurance company puts on the table is an opening bid. It often arrives before anyone even knows what your injuries will cost over the next few years. Meanwhile, you’re trying to pay rent and keep up with medical bills on a reduced paycheck as you heal. A check that covers this month can look awfully tempting, and the other side knows it. But once you sign that release that comes with the check, your claim is closed for good, even if your doctor recommends surgery next spring.
Here’s why first offers come in low, what to do when you get one, how to build a counteroffer, and how to know when a lawsuit is the better option.
The Math Behind a Lowball Offer
Don’t take the lowball offer personally. The adjuster who made it certainly doesn’t have anything personal against you. Closing claims for as little as the facts allow is an adjuster’s job. The early offer is a cheap way to find out whether you’ll settle before it’s clear what your claim is truly worth.
At this point in the process, timing is on the adjuster’s side. If you’re still in physical therapy, nobody can say whether you’ll need surgery down the road, and insurance companies aren’t known for guessing higher amounts. Your bills and pay stubs make part of the case for you, but only part. The sleepless nights and long Saturdays stuck on the couch missing your son’s ball game don’t produce a clear bill or receipt. These personal setbacks are barely considered at first.
You might also be selling yourself short about the accident. Were you going a few miles per hour over the limit? Did you wait a half-second too long to brake? Mississippi allows you to recover even if you are found partly at fault. But your award drops by your share of fault. This means that every point of blame an adjuster can pin on you takes money out of your compensation. A two-week break in treatment or an old back injury could give the insurance company reason to doubt you were really hurt in the accident. Most insurance company lowball tactics work by making you feel lucky to get anything.
Limited Insurance
Sometimes, the low offer isn’t a tactic. Rather, the insurance company might be limited in what they can give you. Mississippi drivers are required to carry only $25,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, according to the Mississippi Insurance Department, and that might be all the other driver’s policy can pay. Plenty of drivers carry nothing at all.
In 2023, 28.2 percent of Mississippi drivers were uninsured, the highest rate in the country according to the Insurance Research Council. When the other driver’s coverage runs dry or doesn’t exist, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage might be where the rest of the money is.
What to Do Before You Answer the Adjuster
A low offer doesn’t urgently require a fast reply, even when the adjuster makes it sound like it does. Before you get respond to the adjuster:
- Don’t sign anything the insurer sends until you’ve decided to settle.
- Don’t deposit a check you haven’t agreed to. If the check or the letter with it says its full payment, cashing it can settle your claim and lock you out of further negotiations.
- Ask for the offer in writing, along with what that money should cover: which bills, how much in lost wages, and how much for pain and suffering.
- Ask your own doctor about what comes next. A written opinion on future care or permanent limitations carries more weight than your own estimate.
Building a Counteroffer the Adjuster Can’t Wave Off
A counteroffer for a personal injury claim usually takes the form of a demand letter. A strong demand letter for an injury settlement typically lays out the following:
- How the crash happened and why the other driver is responsible, backed by the crash report, photos, and witness statements
- Each injury, the treatment it required, and what it cost, plus your doctor’s estimate of future care
- Wages you’ve lost and, if your injuries limit your ability to work, what you stand to lose
- How the injuries have impacted your daily life
- The specific dollar amount you’re seeking and a deadline for a response
Negotiating with insurance adjusters mostly comes down to showing you’ve done the homework and you know the paperwork. An adjuster will shrug off “I deserve more!” but a figure tied to a surgeon’s estimate demands a proper answer. Truck crash claims and counteroffers will add the driver logs and the truck’s maintenance records.
Understand that in contract terms, a counteroffer generally works as a rejection. This means the insurer’s first offer probably will not stay on the table. It’s important to counteroffer with an amount you can back up with documents. Show them it’s not a bluff.
When Talks Stall, a Lawsuit Changes the Conversation
Sometimes a rejected insurance settlement offer leads to a better one. Other times, the adjuster simply won’t budge. This is when filing a lawsuit can shift the pressure, because now the insurer has to pay defense lawyers and defend its offer in court.
Filing suit doesn’t mean you’re headed to trial. In fact, it’s quite unlikely. A Bureau of Justice Statistics study found that trials accounted for roughly four percent of tort cases resolved in state courts in 2005. Yes, the study is more than 20 years old, but the general finding still applies.
Mississippi personal injury laws generally give you three years to file a lawsuit. You get far less time when a government vehicle or state employee is involved.
What about bad faith insurance practices? In Mississippi, the lion’s share of bad faith claims belongs to policyholders suing their own insurance providers, not someone negotiating with the other driver’s carrier. However, your own uninsured motorist carrier does owe you good faith. If they delay or deny a legitimate claim without an arguable reason, they can be sued for bad faith.
Don’t Let the First Number Be the Last One
A low settlement offer is where negotiation starts. It becomes the final word only if you sign it. Remember, the insurance company built its number from what it could see, so your counteroffer must show them the rest of the story.
Owen, Owen & Smith, PLLC has served clients on the Mississippi Gulf Coast since 1982. Our attorneys handle car and truck accident claims from the demand letter through trial when a case needs one, and partner Joel Smith brings the perspective of a former judge on the Mississippi Court of Appeals. If you’re weighing an offer that doesn’t cover what the crash cost you, reach out to our firm to schedule a consultation with a Gulfport accident attorney before you sign anything.
The insurance company made the first offer, but you don’t have to let it make the last one.
