Making medical insurance claim, what should I ask for?

[Muskrat Love]

I talked to an insurance adjuster recently regarding an automobile accident I was involved in last Friday. It was clearly the other driver's fault, and they have already cut us a check for a car which was declared totalled. The adjuster also offered to settle up on the injury claim by giving me $500 for my inconvenience, comping my missed work for going to the doctor and getting X-rays, pay all my medical expenses to this point, and setting aside $2000 for future medical expenses. My doctor warned me not to settle yet, to at least wait until we get the results on the neck x-rays, and the offer does seem low. The adjuster did mention that they might work something out where I get more in-pocket money and less set aside for medical expenses, so I think they are willing to bargain to get this out of the way.

As to the nature of my injuries, I had a stiff neck since the day after the accident, which was at it's worst on Monday but is only giving me a little pain now. I also had some lower back pain starting on Monday, but that's pretty much gone at this point. I don't think I was seriously injured but I'm not a medical expert. I'd like to have more than the $500 for my inconvenience and pain and suffering and such, and more for potential medical treatment if my neck does not get better or relapses.

So, does anyone with experience with these kinds of claims have an idea what I could expect to be able to get? They've already paid out $3600 for the car, with us keeping salvage title (it's still drivable).

[pbbth]

1. Decide nothing until you get back all of your medical tests and exams and whatnot. That will be a major part of the decision making process.

2. Why do you think more than $500 would be appropriate? If they are covering you for your medical bills, car repairs, time missed from work, and setting aside another $2,000 for future medical bills that may come up I think the extra $500 is more than fair but there may be something I'm missing.

[Muskrat Love]

Originally Posted by pbbth

1. Decide nothing until you get back all of your medical tests and exams and whatnot. That will be a major part of the decision making process.

2. Why do you think more than $500 would be appropriate? If they are covering you for your medical bills, car repairs, time missed from work, and setting aside another $2,000 for future medical bills that may come up I think the extra $500 is more than fair but there may be something I'm missing.

Because that was her first offer, and she said they could probably give me more. This makes me think I can probably get quite a bit more than $500.

[Victor Frankenstein]

Take it. You weren't seriously injured and they've covered the cost of the car to your satisfaction.

No reason to attempt to squeeze more out of the system - this is what causes rates to go up over time.

[pbbth]

Originally Posted by Badtz Maru

Because that was her first offer, and she said they could probably give me more. This makes me think I can probably get quite a bit more than $500.

Whether or not you can and whether or not you should are two different questions. If you feel like you have some sort of issue that is going to make your life difficult (you find yourself afraid of cars now, one of your injuries is permanent and incurable, you were on your way to a job interview and you failed to get that job because you weren't able to show up, etc.) then it would be fair to go after additional money. If you feel like you'd really like a new laptop and this seems to be an easy wat to get it I say leave it at the $500.

[Muskrat Love]

I've been finding myself afraid of tiny Latinas wearing thongs since the accident. More seriously, I have been having trouble getting a full night's sleep because I cannot get comfortable due to my neck soreness. My wife and I were also both seriously stressed out over the accident the entire weekend when we were unsure if their insurance was going to pay for it and didn't know if we would have a working vehicle, and I've had a headache pretty much continuously since the accident even after the stress was reduced. I think I've suffered a lot more than $500 worth.

I'm looking out for myself and not the greater good. I don't care if the other person's insurance rates go higher or get cancelled - they should not have allowed an unlicensed driver who sucked at driving so much she ended up going the wrong way on a main road drive their big-ass SUV. I'm asking for what I could get, not what I should get.

[Victor Frankenstein]

Originally Posted by Badtz Maru

I think I've suffered a lot more than $500 worth.

How much to you think your "suffering" is worth.




*This is coming from someone who was in a nasty car crash almost 3 years ago and STILL hurts from it.

[pbbth]

Unless that headache and neck soreness is permanent I don't think you have much of a case for (or right to) more than $500. You can ask for it and they might give it but a weekend of being stressed about bills is not worth more than $500.

[Muskrat Love]

Originally Posted by 7

How much to you think your "suffering" is worth.




*This is coming from someone who was in a nasty car crash almost 3 years ago and STILL hurts from it.

How much did you get for yours?

I'm thinking mine's worth at least a couple of grand.

[Victor Frankenstein]

Originally Posted by Badtz Maru

I'm thinking mine's worth at least a couple of grand.

I'd say $1000 tops.

[Muskrat Love]

Originally Posted by 7

I'd say $1000 tops.

Well, that would get me a decent laptop and a Playstation 3.

[Islander]

Originally Posted by 7

Take it. You weren't seriously injured and they've covered the cost of the car to your satisfaction.

No reason to attempt to squeeze more out of the system - this is what causes rates to go up over time.

Originally Posted by pbbth

Unless that headache and neck soreness is permanent I don't think you have much of a case for (or right to) more than $500. You can ask for it and they might give it but a weekend of being stressed about bills is not worth more than $500.

This.

I was in an identical accident, she hit me, mandatory trip to the ER because my airbag slammed my wrist. Same payout for the dead car, med expenses, rental car, lost work and $500 pain & suffering. That's a fair deal and I think milking it for more is a poor decision. Settle.

[Jaade]

Originally Posted by Badtz Maru

I've been finding myself afraid of tiny Latinas wearing thongs since the accident. More seriously, I have been having trouble getting a full night's sleep because I cannot get comfortable due to my neck soreness. My wife and I were also both seriously stressed out over the accident the entire weekend when we were unsure if their insurance was going to pay for it and didn't know if we would have a working vehicle, and I've had a headache pretty much continuously since the accident even after the stress was reduced. I think I've suffered a lot more than $500 worth.

I'm looking out for myself and not the greater good. I don't care if the other person's insurance rates go higher or get cancelled - they should not have allowed an unlicensed driver who sucked at driving so much she ended up going the wrong way on a main road drive their big-ass SUV. I'm asking for what I could get, not what I should get.

When 7 says rates go up over time, he's not talking about the person who hit you. He's talking about me. You. Anyone in the US that is responsible and carries the appropriate insurance on their vehicles. That's why people get upset with those who game the systems. It hurts people who put money in, it doesn't hurt the providers of these services. Trust me, no one at Allstate is missing money from their paycheck to pay for your playstation 3. I am. Without getting into any accidents or getting a ticket or changing anything about my vehicle or drivers, my insurance went up last year instead of down. These companies pass along the cost of their settlements to us, their customers. That's one reason the adjuster was so quick to let you know they'd go higher.

I wouldn't accept an offer until I was sure my medical expenses were 100% covered. Asking for more cash to buy a PS3....that's a different story.

[Victor Frankenstein]

Originally Posted by Badtz Maru

Well, that would get me a decent laptop and a Playstation 3.

Too bad it's hard to play with those things with neck and back pain.

If you've only had a little neck and back pain, but it's mostly gone after a few days with mild lingering neck stiffness, I honestly hope you don't get very much. It really irks me when people get in a car crash and start thinking "neat, now I can buy new toys".

[Muskrat Love]

Well, I guess I was right in that they were low-balling me. My wife was in an auto accident several years back, and she ended up with $13,000 in medical expenses, and the insurance company paid her medical expenses plus matched them in a check to her. Based on that, I asked for $25,000 against future medical expenses, and to get this over with, half that for my pocket. We went back and forth and I ended up with $10,000 for future medical expenses, one-third that for my pocket, plus compensation for missed work and the $500 for my inconveniences, so i got close to $4000. Much better than $500.

[pbbth]

Remember this the next time you are bitching about the cost of anything going up in the future. Grocery stores that pay out for liability claims have to raise prices to compensate, insurance companies raise their prices to make up for the payment of claims, doctors charge more because of the high cost of malpractice suits, etc. What you have done directly contributes to the rising cost of living so you have now sold your right to ever complain about the price of anything again for $4000.

[AuntiePam]

Follow your doctor's advice. Don't settle the medical part of your claim until you know the impact (pun intended) on your health. Everybody laughs at whiplash, but if you've ever had it, it's not funny.

But if your pain is gone and your doctor thinks you're okay, then IMHO the $500 inconvenience + $2,000 medical is reasonable.

[Muskrat Love]

Originally Posted by AuntiePam

Follow your doctor's advice. Don't settle the medical part of your claim until you know the impact (pun intended) on your health. Everybody laughs at whiplash, but if you've ever had it, it's not funny.

But if your pain is gone and your doctor thinks you're okay, then IMHO the $500 inconvenience + $2,000 medical is reasonable.

I've already settled. In doing so, I've managed to:

1. Avoid using some of the most expensive bad advice I've ever received on the internet.

2. Saved the insurance company from the possibility of having to pay for, over an indefinite period of time, tens of thousands of dollars worth of medical bills.

3. Buckeyes!

4. Given up my right to ever complain about the price for anything because I should have gone along with the insurance companies price-saving policy of offering a much smaller amount than they are willing to pay.

[Victor Frankenstein]

My respect for you has dropped greatly.

I look forward to you bitching about the price of your auto insurance in the near future.

[Victor Frankenstein]

Oh yeah, and if you're going to do the "buckeye" thing, at least do it correctly.

[Muskrat Love]

Originally Posted by 7

My respect for you has dropped greatly.

Because I didn't just accept the insurance company's first offer? It's not like I misrepresented my injuries, I told them the truth and said I would like more, and she immediately increased her offer, and once more after some haggling. There's nothing immoral with trying to get something better than your first offer, especially with auto insurance companies. It's pretty common knowledge that they will always make a much lower first offer than they are willing to pay - my wife was in a much more serious accident years ago and they did the same thing, offering to give her a few hundred bucks and a couple of thousand for medical expenses, and she ended up getting $13,000 worth of medical expenses and therapy, and $13,000 for her pocket. I could have got more for my pocket had I put off resolving the claim until I had accumulated some medical expenses (which is what my wife did herself in her accident).

Tell me, was the $1000 you got for your accident the first offer they made, or did you try to negotiate something better? If you didn't negotiate, you got ripped off. If they were offering $1000 up front, I'm sure you could have negotiated it up to around $10K. Insurance companies count on people seeing them as authority figures and accepting the first offer they make to keep their profits high. They were perfectly willing to give me almost $4000 with minimal haggling (I'm sure if I had a lawyer I could have done better) but were HOPING I'd let them off for a tiny fraction of that.

[Victor Frankenstein]

edited.

[Muskrat Love]

Originally Posted by 7

Let's get something straight, my settlement was not a simple cash grab to buy new toys - as you have admitted yours to be. It was an attempt to compensate me for years of pain and discomfort caused by a person who had no reason to be on the road. To compensate me for future missed work for ongoing treatments and possible missed opportunities due to the crash. To compensate for a person hitting me from behind while moving at approximately 70 KPM while I was stationary. Both cars were totaled both monetarily and functionality. It wasn't a simple fender bender to an old beater.

My injuries not only caused pain, but depression, weight gain (which I'm still working on shedding the last extra 10 pounds), decreased mobility and a minor phobia of being on the road and always expecting to be hit again. It caused my life and work to become quite difficult, I had to rely on other people to do things for me which I found to be somewhat humiliating. There were many things I could not do in the first two years after the crash.

I spent my entire life protecting my back lifting things correctly and not doing stupid things to it. This was taken away by some mother fucker who couldn't keep his eyes on the road. It was, simply, a life changing event for me.

Read that again. A Life Changing Event.

My compensation can in no way even begin to be compared to yours. You had minor discomfort for a few days and can repair your (still drivable) car for $100 or so. As I write this, my back and neck still fucking bother me.

If you did in fact get a settlement like you claim (which I actually doubt at this point), I don't think of this as a "wow! Score!" I think of it as some piece of shit worked the system to buy some crappy electronic toys for himself and buy his fat ass wife and foul mouthed little kids a steak dinner at fucking Denny's.

Do I think you should have taken their first offer? Yes. Because no one was hurt and your car was barely damaged (your words).

Oh sure, you say you suffered some discomfort, but give me a break. You were almost fully recovered in a few days. How bad could it have been? I've received a worse injury by bonking my head on a cupboard door. If you think someone owes you the amount you claim for your injury, then you are a big fucking baby.

My insurance company did pay out for my car and no I did not take their first offer. They low balled me with a bluebook offer and it took several weeks before they raised their offer and paid out proper replacement value. This was not a money grab. The amount they offered would only pay for about half of buying another car of the same year, mileage, make, model and options. Understand, I no longer had a functioning vehicle. It needed to be replaced and I sure as shit wasn't going to put MY money into replacing it when none of this was my fault. Either my insurance will pay for it (which is what I pay them for) or his would.

The discussion with his insurance company on the compensation for my injuries did not even seriously begin until almost two years after the crash.

While you might look at this as a windfall, every other honest person looks at this as another asshole screwing up the system for everyone else just so he could buy trinkets he couldn't normally afford.

Personally, if what you claim is fact true, and you accepted, I think your compensation should be reduced to $2, a boo-boo band-aid, a lollipop and a kick in the fucking mouth.

I'm sorry about your suffering, and glad you didn't take the first offer they made. I still think they ripped you off if you only got $1000 for all that suffering. You really should have got a lawyer, because if you are still suffering from injuries received years ago, you should have got tens of thousands. I can understand why you are bitter. I think settlement policies between insurance companies must vary a lot, because the one that covered the vehicle that hit me seemed very anxious to settle and make compromises. The original offer was greater than the blue-book value of the car (they offered $3000 and blue book was $2300 if you consider it "Good" condition, which is questionable), and my wife got the adjuster to raise it $600 over the phone just by telling her we had just put new tires on it and were in the process of replacing the broken taillight. They agreed to this the Tuesday after the Friday accident, we didn't have to wait a couple of weeks like you did.

And I was joking about getting a new laptop and a PS3. Most of the money is going to bills, the only "toy" we have bought was a $60 keyboard from Woot. We may end up getting a new computer as we really need two in the house, but we were going to get one anyway at tax time or when we had the money and the opportunity.

[Zeener Diode]

Damn, it took ten minutes for my computer to cool down after reading this. It's still warm to the touch.

If I ever have to battle my insurer, I want 7 in my corner.

[Muskrat Love]

Originally Posted by Zeener Diode

If I ever have to battle my insurer, I want 7 in my corner.

You sure about that? He had a life-changing injury and only got $1000 and had to fight hard for that. I had some minor whiplash and got $3833 and change.

[whirlingbladesofkick]

Jeez, can you not see that's an assholish thing to say? Or do you just not care?

[Muskrat Love]

Originally Posted by whirlingbladesofkick

Jeez, can you not see that's an assholish thing to say? Or do you just not care?

I'm not totally an asshole, and I've liked 7 up until recently. He did, for some reason, go after my wife and children in his flaming, so I did get a bit testy. I actually started to post a stronger response, but realized that he's been through a lot of suffering and I'd probably be pretty frustrated as well if I was in his shoes. I just think he's wrong to go after me as I am not abusing the system, I just happened to get a friendlier insurance adjuster.