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lewbcw -> Need Input: Should I Accept Settlement? (6/30/2008 6:17:29 PM)
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Hello Everyone,
I have a question for those who have either gone through an accident related insurance settlement or can provide Christian insight based on my particular situation (this is long, but I will get to my dilemma at the end).
I had in accident in February 2008 in which I had medical bills of exactly $1,108 and lost wages of $480 (several days from taking off work to see doctor/physical therapist). The total concrete amount for lost wages and med bills was: $1,588.00
The good news is: I am not at fault, as the person who hit me from behind was unable to break in time and admitted fault immediately at the scene of the accident to police officer. (Interestingly, I believe he too was a Christian, because we had the accident at a Christian university.) Also, very thankfully, I was not hurt very bad. Just a lot of lower back soreness, but nothing serious. Now given that we both have the same insurance provider and he admitted fault, this is a very simple case in which I can claim any bills and losses and our provider must pay me directly. I have a $1,000 allowance on my policy which I've used, making my total unreimbursed expenses: $588.00
Recently, I called the insurance claims negotiator, who asked me what my damages were and I said I had a few days of missed work and med bills that were unpaid and that I would send them paper work for the claim. On the phone, she asked me roughly what that amount was and I believe I gave her a rough estimate at the time (I definitely do not recall giving her an exact amount, since I was not at home to see my bills and dates missed)....Without contacting me again or verifying the paper work, the negotiator sent me a check for $1,000.00
To recap, I had $588.00 in concrete unreimursed damages and was given a check for $1,000.00
I was a bit confused, because I thought she needed to verify the information from my employer and doctors, but when I called her she said no no, don't worry about it. You can just accept the money now if you agree to this settlement. I told her I wanted to take a bit more time to verify things and make sure nothing is wrong.
After consultation with doctors, all of them said I was fine and needed no further treatment. This was good news. So my total loss was still at $588.00 (not including any pain/suffering/lost time type of claims).
However, after discussing things with a few people, I was told that I could also claim lost time and pain and suffering that was in addition to my medical bills and missing work days. I thought about all of that and felt my pain was not very significant and lost time was probably one or two days, due to having to file a lot of paper work, calling doctors for insurance related procedures and talking on the phone for hours. As a result, I added $250.00 in lost time and general pain and suffering and annoyance to my claim of $588.00 to make it a total of $838.00
So I called the insurance negotiator and said that I felt I wanted to add approx. $250.00 to my $588.00 for lost time and general annoyance of having to deal with the accident procedures. I said that she gave me $1,000.00, when I was only claiming $838.00 and that I wanted to return $162.00 ....At that point, she said no no, don't worry about it, why don't you just keep the full $1,000.00. I explained that I approximated my lost time and minimal pain and suffering to be $250.00, but didn't feel it was that bad, so I wanted to give back the extra and she went on to say that I was definitely entitled to that full $1,000.00 if I wanted it. I said I had never negotiated something like pain/suffering or lost time, so it was a bit confusing to me and she said it is vague at times, but that's why they have negotiators. It's not an exact science and when you negotiate, you can take what is approximately fair. I kept saying I felt bad about this and she kept saying no no, do not feel bad, you can definitely take that money.
In explaining that I was a Christian and that I was worried about taking more than I deserved, the woman paused and said, "Sir, let me just say you are one in a thousand, or may one in a million that we talk to every day. I'm more than happy to offer you that settlement for $1,000.00 and would feel no problems at all with you taking it and claiming the extra amount as part of your pain/suffering/lost time. My opinion is that you should just keep the extra amount and consider it a closed case. I'll leave it up to you, but if you agree to accept the settlement, there is no need to send in any other paperwork or do any verification. And if you actually wanted to claim more money for pain and suffering, we can go ahead and give you that too. Remember you are entitled to it. So you decide and let me know ok?"
Now having heard this, my general understanding is that the woman was suggesting that I could technically claim more for pain and suffering and lost time/annoyance than I was doing and that it was weird for me to be giving back money to them. I have a couple of questions here.
Assuming that I myself did not think I was hurt that bad and only had a few days of lost time (outside of lost wages, which were already covered), would it be ok to accept the extra $162.00 she said I could keep for pain/suffering, etc.? Her opinion is that it's very typical for people in my cases to claim a good chunk of pain and suffering reimbursement, but for me, it's not that big of a deal. I was just glad I wasn't hurt very bad and had minimal time off. I do understand her point that the pain/suffering and lost time is not concrete and negotiable, so I do not mind if they want to give me more. But at the same time, I do not necessarily feel I deserve it, if that makes sense. The pain/suffering is essentially an estimate that they try to negotiate with me (I guess they're hoping I accept less...so I'm wondering if they low-balled me the first time....since people frequently try to rip insurance companies off) and I ended up thinking they estimated it as being more than what I deserved. So that was possibly why she almost laughed at me seeing that I wanted to give some back. [sm=icon_smile_boggled.gif] It seemed like the negotiator was even pleased that I would accept their first offer, let alone want to give some back.
I did want to ask what you might do in this situation and/or if there was something I was possibly missing here?
The only final piece to this that may be relevant is that insurance companies are often pressured to settle a claim quickly in which one of their insured is at fault, because once it is settled, future damages cannot be claimed. I was told it was a one time deal and that I have up to three years to settle my claim with them. If I settle prior to the three year limit, I cannot add anything on to the claim even if I have continuing problems later. So if my doctor says I'm fine today and I settle my claim tomorrow. ...If I find I have recurring problems a few months later, I cannot add on to my claim through my insurance provider. So if I do not need the money immediately (which I actually do), then it would be to my benefit to make the claim at the end of the three year period to best protect myself. But having talked to all my doctors, they all feel I am fine, so that is why I had no problems settling all damages now.
The main question is, is it ok to take the full $1,000.00 they are offering, even if it is more than the $838.00 I claimed? ...Would that be wrong in God's eyes?
Thanks for your input in advance.
lewbcw
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