If you’re involved in a car accident that wasn’t your fault, you’ll likely be able to seek compensation for damages from the at-fault party. That party likely won’t have the money or the legal competence to negotiate on their own, so they’ll hire an attorney and/or go through their insurance company to negotiate with you.
If all goes well, you can negotiate with the opposition’s insurance company and reach a mutually agreeable settlement. However, this process can be long, complicated, and frustrating for everyone involved.
Why do insurance negotiations take so long and why is it even worth it?
The Landscape of Insurance Settlement Negotiations
Let’s start with the basics. With the help of a competent personal injury attorney, you can file a lawsuit seeking compensation for damages you sustained in any accident that is caused by another. Generally, this means indirectly filing suit against that person’s insurance carrier. Neither of these parties wants to go to trial, since trials are very long, very expensive, and often unpredictable. Instead, they often elect to settle the matter on their own, with the insurance company agreeing to pay a fixed amount that the plaintiff ultimately accepts.
Obviously, the plaintiff wants to win as much compensation as possible, while the insurance company wants to pay as little compensation as possible. Accordingly, opposing teams of lawyers do get out for months, and sometimes years, hoping to find a reasonable compromise.
Why Insurance Negotiations Take So Long
Hypothetically, insurance negotiations are meant to save time and improve efficiency by avoiding going to trial. So why do they take so long?
- Fact finding. Both parties are responsible for discovering facts and evidence related to the case. It often takes a long time to file and process these claims, as well as gather and organize pieces of evidence. For example, the parties may be interested in securing surveillance footage, interviewing witnesses, and conducting forensic analyses. Some of these things can be achieved in days, but some of them take weeks or even months.
- Dispute resolution. Oftentimes, facts are disputed. If you claim that you stopped at the red light, but the other party claims you ran the red light, it can take a long time for the parties to agree on what actually happened. This usually involves in-depth evidence gathering and analysis.
- Requests and chain of communication. Every step of the process requires official communication, and sometimes official filings. A single inquiry might require dozens of different messages, related to different individuals, all of whom are busy with innumerable other responsibilities.
- Bureaucratic processing. Similarly, insurance negotiations are sometimes delayed because of bureaucratic processing. It’s not a single individual at either end of the negotiation; instead, it’s a convoluted network of people with rigid hierarchies in place.
- Delay tactics. Delay is also a strong negotiating tactic. Insurance companies know that plaintiffs often get impatient and accept relatively low offers to get the process over with. The longer they can artificially delay the negotiation process without penalty, the better it is for them.
Several factors can influence how long it takes to negotiate a settlement:
- The complexity of the case. More complex car accident cases take longer to settle. If there were multiple parties involved in the accident, if the cause isn’t clear, and if multiple people have different versions of events, it’s going to take much longer to figure out what happened.
- The insurance company and policy. Much depends on the insurance company itself, as well as the policy they offer. Some insurance companies offer fast claims processing, and some policies offer more clarification than others.
- The money on the line. As you might imagine, insurance companies are willing to fight harder and longer when there is more money on the line. The more you’re asking for, the longer the negotiation is going to take.
- Concurrent caseloads. There are roughly 4-5 auto insurance collision claims per 100 drivers per year in the United States. That results in millions of claims that need to be filed and negotiated. With more ongoing negotiations running concurrently, the length of time needed to process them increases.
Why It Pays to Remain Patient
It’s typically a good idea to remain patient during this process, at least to whatever extent you’re able. Remaining patient means you’ll be in a superior negotiating position, and you won’t take a settlement offer that’s objectively too low. Cultivating patients is also important for reducing your stress, as negotiating this type of legal claim can take a toll on your mental health.
Entering negotiations with an insurance company, and dealing with the aftermath of a car accident in general can be a very stressful and frustrating experience. But if you have the help of a good lawyer, and you’re willing to remain patient, this process can ultimately earn you the compensation you deserve.