Are you settling your claim directly without any medical evidence? Have you been told by the insurers that you could save some time and get a little more by ‘cutting out the middleman lawyer’ and dealing directly? Are you now negotiating a sum but want some advice about its merits?
If the answer to the above is yes then I have some bad news for you…
Here’s a little myth buster for you:
- Medical evidence is needed for a claim – it’s the only way that a claim can be accurately valued. Without it, it’s all just guesswork and estimates
- Lawyers are not middlemen – in fact, the only way you can maximise the claim with a proper valuation is with a lawyer
- In the vast vast vast majority of cases you do not get more by dealing directly
Whilst the idea of getting the claim settled more quickly and for what you are being told is a higher sum may seem attractive, you are actually more than likely under settling the claim.
Research has shown that you can get up to four times more than the original offer by proper negotiation with a lawyer. The majority of claims settled with insurers directly settle for around £500 to £1,500 from what we know. This may be less than half what most claims settle for with lawyers.
In fact, we have recently blogged about several whiplash claims we have settled lately where the payouts where all around the £5,000 mark. That’s potentially more than 10 times what the insures typically offer people first. So no, you are not ‘cutting out the middleman‘ and ‘getting more‘ by dealing directly – in fact you are probably getting mugged off by the insurers!
It is of course all your choice, but if I had a pound for each time we have had people call our offices and ask us to help with their claims when they have already under settled their case, I’d be a wealthy man.
The advice here is simple – stop researching how much your claim could be worth, and get a lawyer and settle for what it is actually worth.
