After a car crash, you might expect your car insurance company to have your back. Isn’t that what you pay them for? Now is the time for them to step up and make sure that you are compensated for your injuries. But can you really trust them to keep your best interests at heart? How do you know if their offer is fair? Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for insurance companies to offer less than what your claim is really worth. If you’re unsure about the number they give you, trust your instincts. Here are four signs your insurance company is low-balling you after a car collision.
(1) The offer is in the $1,000 to $3,000 range for your bodily injury.
There are some key core concepts to understand when looking at the value of a bodily injury claim.
(a) The value of money is relative: while we think of dollars as a concrete measure of value. (Just ask yourself what is the value of a bitcoin? Then ask yourself what is the value of dollars in bitcoin?) We also know that inflation occurs and the value of a dollar in 2025 is substantially less than the value of a dollar in 1925.
(b) No one really knows better than you whether or not your arm hurts. The best evidence of your non-visualizable injuries is typically your experience because you are the only person that lives in your body and the only person who can feel whether or not your arm hurts.
With those key concepts in mind, and layering on decades of experience in this industry, $1,000 is a very low offer if you felt any pain at all as a result of the crash. Children with no memory of the crash and teenagers who bounce back quickly regularly can resolve their cases in that range. If you are competent enough to be reading this, you are likely older and as a result your body likely does not bounce back as quick as it did when you were a teenager. As a result, there is a high likelihood that the $1,000-$3,000 range is insufficient to fully compensate you for your bodily injury.
(2) They are offering to resolve the case before you are done treating.
In order to measure damages in a case we need to know what it would take to get you back to where you were if the crash had never happened. Generally, this means that you are healed or have reached maximum medical improvement (“MMI”). If you are still treating, you genuinely don’t know (unless you have a crystal ball or can see the future) how much more it will take to get you healed or back to MMI. You don’t know if you will need surgery or if the injury becomes permanent. Trying to settle the case before you are done treating is an indicator that the insurance company is trying to pay you less than your case is worth.
(3) The adjuster gives you “talking points” for why your claim is not worth more.
As a part of the insurance industry companies employ adjusters to evaluate and resolve claims. These folks are trained in their company processes and regularly will give you “talking points” about why your claim is less valuable. When you start hearing the same canned “talking points” from the adjuster it is an indicator that the insurance company is trying to settle your case for less than it is worth.
(4) You begin asking yourself “are you low-balling me?”
In the end, if you are asking yourself if you are getting low-balled then it is likely time to call an attorney who can evaluate your case and let you know if that is the case. Here at Hunking Law, we are car accident attorneys, and we are here to help.
If you were injured in an auto accident in Oregon, give us a call at (541) 486-5464 to set up a free consultation.