Yes. In almost every car accident claim, the insurance company’s first offer is a starting point, not a final answer. Adjusters expect negotiation, and accepting the first number usually means leaving money on the table.
Why the First Offer Is Almost Never the Best Offer
Insurance companies resolve claims for as little as possible; that is the business model. Early offers are often made before the full extent of your injuries is known, and they are frequently paired with a release that ends your claim forever. Once you sign, you cannot go back for more, even if your condition gets worse.
Wait Until You Reach Maximum Medical Improvement
The negotiations with regard to resolving a claim should not really get serious until you’ve reached what we call maximum medical improvement. The amount of your claim one of the factors is how well did you recover what continuing lingering problems did you have so the negotiations are usually dependent upon in part how well you recovered what residual injuries you’re going to have on a permanent basis.
Maximum medical improvement, or MMI, is the point where your recovery has stabilized: you are either fully healed or your doctors can say what problems will be permanent. Until then, nobody can honestly value your claim, because nobody knows what your future medical care, lost earnings, or lasting limitations will look like. Serious negotiation should not start before that point.
What a Counteroffer Is Built On
A strong demand is documented, not argued. It accounts for all medical bills to date and projected future treatment, lost wages and reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, and how the injuries changed your daily life. Our guide to typical car accident settlement amounts explains how these pieces come together in practice.
How the Negotiation Actually Unfolds
Your lawyer sends a demand letter with the supporting records. The adjuster responds low, and the sides exchange positions, each backed by evidence. Most claims settle this way. When an insurer will not move to a fair number, filing suit changes their math, and many cases settle after litigation begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do settlement negotiations take?
It depends mostly on your recovery timeline, since serious talks should wait for maximum medical improvement. After a demand is sent, straightforward claims can resolve in weeks to a few months; disputed or high-value claims take longer, especially if suit is filed.
Can I negotiate with the insurance company myself?
You can, and for very small property-damage claims it may be fine. For injury claims, adjusters know an unrepresented claimant rarely files suit, and offers tend to reflect that. Studies and our own experience point the same direction: represented claimants generally recover more, even after fees.
Talk to Us Before You Accept Anything
The Illinois personal injury law firm of Phillips Law Offices has represented injured people and their families for decades. Talk to a Chicago car accident lawyer on our team for free, and pay nothing unless we win.
