Will I get a good settlement after an auto accident if I work with the insurance company?

I tell my clients that insurance companies are skilled in tactics to save the insurance company money and give the client much less than they deserve for their injuries.

How do I know this? I used to work for insurance companies, doing insurance defense litigation. Did it for years. And the key is to save the insurance company money at the expense of the client. They’re excellent negotiators, they’re excellent information gatherers, and they will do everything they can to trip you up and have you resolve your claim for much less than it’s worth.

I tell people this all the time: if someone comes into my office and they’re negotiating with an insurance company, I will tell them that I will be more than happy if they want to try and continue to negotiate—go ahead and do it. And if they want to call me and run figures by me that they’re offering, I will give them my honest opinion as to whether it’s fair or not. And I do that for free. I provide those opinions for free for clients because I’ve often found that they come back when they realize exactly what I told them from day one—that they’re never going to get a fair offer directly from the insurance company.

Quite frankly, we found that hiring someone skilled in negotiating settlements and litigating these cases, should settlement not be possible, substantially increases the ultimate value of the claim.

So if you want quick money, and you want to settle it without a lawyer, then insurance companies will be happy to do that—but it’s going to be for a fraction of what you’re entitled to.