It’s that time of year where the insurers will prey on victims of accidents and push them to settle too early and directly without a solicitor because Christmas is here and everyone could use a little more money over the festive period. Even our clients get a massive surge of pre-medical offers, which are offers to settle claim without medical evidence.
It’s tempting to take the common £1,000 now rather than wait a few more weeks and settle a claim the proper way.
So many people will inevitably go on the big internet hunt to find out whether the insurers offer is a good one or not. That’s probably why you’re here yourself! You have been offered a sum of money from the insurers, and now you want to know what the average payouts are so you can tell whether this is a decent offer or not.
Well, here are some facts you need to know:
- Research has shown that solicitors can get you up to four times as much compensation when you go down the proper route.
- Our own research of recently settled cases corroborates with the above. We have even had cases where the first offer was £1,000 and we settled the case for £30,000!
- Without a medical report, no one can accurately value your claim – so the insurers offer is based purely on guesswork and estimation.
- Once you have settled the claim, that’s it – it’s over! You can’t go back for more when you realise you have been the victim of under settlement.
Even after reading the above you might still think that you’re smart enough to barter with the insurers and get as much as possible. But whenever I have spoken to anyone who has been offered an amount directly, or accepted an amount, they never tell me a figure close to what I settled my whiplash claim for.
I settled mine for £6,500. Mine was a neck, shoulder, and back whiplash injury, and that amount was just for the injury (less around £400.00 for treatment fees) so I didn’t lose any earnings or have any expenses that pushed it up. I usually say to them that they should ask for this amount because it’s what I got – so why won’t they pay that?
Don’t get me wrong, your claim may not be worth as much as mine as it does depend on the severity and longevity of your suffering – and how good your lawyer is! But it gives you an idea. In fact, if you take the common “grand in your hand” offer they usually make, followed by the increase up to £1,500 when you barter with them, you can see that my settlement amount really is more than four times an offer like that!
Don’t get caught!
Don’t let them reel you in with any of the following tag lines:
- We’ll give you more if you don’t claim with a solicitor as we won’t have to pay for legal fees.
- It will take years with a solicitor to see any money!
- Cut out the middleman – you don’t need a lawyer!
Well, our fees are fixed at £500.00 + VAT and we can get you up to four times as much so it doesn’t take a maths genius to work that one out. Easy cases can be resolved in a few short months, and we can get interim payments (early part payments) before a case settles. Only a properly qualified solicitor is equipped to properly value your claim – so you do need us if you want to guarantee the best settlement possible and safeguard your position.
