My lawyer sent a demand letter to state farm, so how long do they usually take to review the documents from the case and come back with either our demand or their counter offer?
December 13, 2009
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Loading ...How long does it take for an adjuster to review a car accident injury settlement to make an offer?
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Generally, there is no concrete rule. The amount of time can vary.
In California at least, insurance companies are required to accept or deny, in whole or in part, within 40 days of receipt of a claim, or to give you an explanation why they need more time.
But, when it comes to giving you a settlement offer that is a different story. They don’t really have to even make you an offer.
Occasionally, attorney’s take their time "wearing down" the other side in order to receive a larger settlement.
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Comment by http://www.accidentsinla.com — December 13, 2009 @ 7:07 am
Unless is some untoward facts about the accident – probably within 10 days.
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Comment by dusty_titus — December 13, 2009 @ 7:07 am
Depends on how many the adjuster has to review and how big the package is. It takes a lot longer to go through a package that is 18 inches thick as opposed to one that is 1 inch thick. It easily could take any where from 1 – 30 days from the date the adjuster receives it.
And since you have an attorney and will be paying him a very large chunk of any settlement you get, you really should direct any questions you have to your attorney.
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Comment by MSAD — December 13, 2009 @ 7:07 am
There are 2 times a year that the adjusters are swamped.
November/December due to Christmas and March because lawyers have to pay taxes.
Everyone wants to settle before Christmas, so they can spend more on the holidays. Taxes are due in April, so lawyers want to settle more cases to pay their taxes due in April.
So if an adjuster gets say an average of 25 cases to be settled a month, the number could double during those months. Also in November/December, adjusters like everyone else wants time off for vacation, holidays etc, so could limit the time they have to review their claims or have someone else try and pick up the slack.
And as MSAD stated, it depends on the type of case, injuries etc that they review. Some cases may have to go thu several people for authority and that adds time, since until management reviews, then nothing can be done to make an offer or reject it.
But you have one thing in your favor and that is that most companies want to close as many claims by the end of they year and they push the adjuster to do so. But that does not mean that the offer could come before Christmas, only that an offer could be made and the check does not come till after the 1st of the year, but then the case is closed and off the books.
Also, say the adjuster calls the lawyer on Wednesday, but they play phone tag back and forth, could be another week before they actually talk to each other. Then the lawyer calls back and once again, phone tag back and forth.
Your lawyer will call you when they make an offer, since by law he is obligated to do so.
good luck
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Comment by lucy — December 13, 2009 @ 7:07 am
It depends on the complexity of the crash. For example, if there was significant damage to the vehicles, if the injuries are soft tissue or more serious, proof of the injuries, etc. It’s good that you already have an injury lawyer because they will most likely have experience working with the local insurance agencies in the past. If for some reason your lawyer can’t answer this question, I suggest getting another opinion. You can call the Injury Helpline to find a lawyer in your area (www.caraccidentinjuryhelpline.com).
Feel free also to visit my blog at autoaccidenthelp.wordpress.com to get more advice on how to deal with a crash. There’s not much on it yet but I will continuously be updating it with more advice.
Good luck!
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Comment by Jennifer — December 13, 2009 @ 7:07 am
Here we do it in just 7 days.
And I also think that 7 days is enough to check everything.
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Comment by Content Axis — December 13, 2009 @ 7:07 am