offers from insurance companies~personal injury

BengaLover

So..a general question that someone may be able to answer..
We have a claim with the insurance company of a lady that crashed into us 5 mths ago, causing my husband neck & back injuries that are ongoing..
(morphine for pain for months, now onto epidurals for pain relief, depression due to pain for so long, not able to leave house for 6 weeks, cant drive, whiplash still giving him gyp, I had to turn down work to care for him etc etc etc) which has all been covered in the medical review for the personal injury claim.
Now, we have paid out our own car insurance for many many years and NEVER had so much as a bump, and her insurance company has offered a paltry sum that feels very offensive indeed..
Do insurance companies do this often, are they just trying to save money, so I mayneed to advise them that we will go through the PIB.
Im not looking for legal advice, just some insight into how things work inside companies that do these claims.
Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this, thanks!

blueythebear

BengaLover wrote: »

So..a general question that someone may be able to answer..
We have a claim with the insurance company of a lady that crashed into us 5 mths ago, causing my husband neck & back injuries that are ongoing..
(morphine for pain for months, now onto epidurals for pain relief, depression due to pain for so long, not able to leave house for 6 weeks, cant drive, whiplash still giving him gyp, I had to turn down work to care for him etc etc etc) which has all been covered in the medical review for the personal injury claim.
Now, we have paid out our own car insurance for many many years and NEVER had so much as a bump, and her insurance company has offered a paltry sum that feels very offensive indeed..
Do insurance companies do this often, are they just trying to save money, so I mayneed to advise them that we will go through the PIB.
Im not looking for legal advice, just some insight into how things work inside companies that do these claims.
Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this, thanks!

Insurance company is trying to minimise potential losses it would seem. You should talk to a solicitor as soon as possible. If the insurance company are making offers even before you have made an application, then they are most likely worried about the award the Injuries Board will make.

It can't be stressed enough that you should be contacting a solicitor to deal with this on your behalf and certainly do not accept any award from the insurance company until you get legal advice.

johnfás

I bet I can guess the Insurance Company (but not going to). I have seen this alot. Don't sign the document. You should go to a solicitor, or indeed your local FLAC Centre, to discuss the situation. The insurer is seeking to minimise its liability to you. If you sign the document and then find that the injury takes longer to heal - possibly necessitating further health costs or time off work - you will not be reimbursed by the insurer. For that reason it is imperative that you seek specific legal advice relating to your situation.

tommy21

Do not under any circumstances take the offer - it is a common ploy to get those not in the know to settle early, thereby minimising the insurance company's losses. In addition to this it is only 5 months since the accident, injuries such as your husband's may take some time to reach their peak.

You have two options:

1) Apply to the PIAB yourself (since you both seem quite capable of this and have been keeping records etc. sounds like you are up to the task) so nothing wrong with this. Use FLAC or boards to answer any questions.

2) Hire a solicitor to take it from here and look after the nitty gritty. Despite not needing one to go through PIAB, it does seem anecdotally to instill some fear in the insurance company, meaning they might offer you a bit more in order to settle and keep it out of court. Of course this depends on how serious the injuries are (e.g. can you see it might go to court or would you prefer to avoid this) and how well known the solicitor is! Also take into account that you will pay his/her fees from your own pocket, which might or might not be worth it depending on your injuries. Consult the book of quantum (or use the awards calculator on PIAB website) to have a (very, unfortunately) rough idea of what you might be awarded if successful.

In terms of my own opinion, I would go with 2. It sounds like you have a good case, particularly if insurance company is offering to settle so often (the mention of morphine and not being able to leave house raised my eyebrows!) I went with a (well-known!) solicitor for mine after a similar accident to yours. The insurance company offerred what to me being a young buck of 24 seemed a fantastic sum. My solicitor strongly advised me to hold out until PIAB process ended. The award was double the initial offer and the insurance company paid out in a week and still well within the time afforded to them by PIAB to respond to their assessment (my solicitor said it was almost unheard of for that to happen!) Obviously all solicitors differ, but my bill came to €1500 (should have been €2000 apparently but he knew my family so discounted) - either way I am sure that without a solicitor I would have gotten a lesser sum. I would at least for the sake of the €100 or thereabouts meet with a recommended solicitor in your area and ask his opinion (he will of course attempt to draw you onto the books, but should still either way be able to get a good idea if the current sum you are being offerred is far below what you might get.


Also on an unrelated note - what in god's name is a "Benga Lover"?

BengaLover

Thanks for that info.
I will download the forms from the PIAB site today.
Looking at the quantum thing they seem to have offered 3/4 times less than what the guide says there..:mad:
A Bengal is a breed of cat..:D

PCPhoto

talk to a solicitor - PIAB will make an offer based on the injuries, a solicitor will ensure to include all of the stress and pain and sacrifice you are BOTH making and not just the injured party.

from the sounds of it ... you will/could be waiting a few years to get everything back in order.... but if problems are ongoing after several months it may be a matter for the High Court and not the Civil Court (currently awards cannot go higher than €38,500ish).

make sure you keep all documentation, keep a record of all doctor/hospital visits, medication, rehab/physio and alternative treatments.

sorry to hear about the crash and hopefully a speedy recovery and one which will result in a pain free life afterwards.

NOTE: I was the victim of a crash a few years ago .... settled early, I still suffer pain - especially in cold weather.

tommy21

BengaLover wrote: »

Thanks for that info.
I will download the forms from the PIAB site today.
Looking at the quantum thing they seem to have offered 3/4 times less than what the guide says there..:mad:
A Bengal is a breed of cat..:D

My guess was a lover of Bollywood music.:P

Just to let you know, there is no rush to apply for PIAB - you have 2 years to make a claim so I would be cautious of rushing into it if still experiencing symptoms, as there is no going back to "top-up" the award if you apply (though you can submit supplemental forms from your doctor while it is being processed expect it to take 4-5 months). If you are going to go ahead with it, your next step is to get a medical report from your doctor (will cost €350-500 but you will get this back along with certain other costs on top of the amount you are awarded - of course little help to a person if they are stuck for cash in the interim as I was!).

BengaLover

I dont mind the wait seeing as I have seen first hand how bad it was and still is..
There were 2 injuries so I think the insurance company as you said are just trying to minimise their costs.
Interestingly, when I phoned to say the offer was completely unacceptable and that I would be going through PIAB, the claims handler didnt seem to want to discuss a negotiation of the offer, and advised that PIAB would be the best route!
Weird..

234

PCPhoto wrote: »

it may be a matter for the High Court and not the Civil Court (currently awards cannot go higher than €38,500ish).

Do you mean that it would be a matter for the High Court and not the Circuit Court?

injuriesboard

Hi,

I work for the Injuries Board.

You can avoid solicitor fees by making your application directly to the Board for a €45 fee or you can get a solicitor to make an application on your behalf.

InjuriesBoard.ie is an independent statutory body established in 2004 and by law all claims for personal injury compensation must go to the Board (unless settled directly with insurance company).

Regardless of whether you make your application yourself or get a solicitor to do it for you each claim for compenstaion is treated the very same and is assessed on the same basis i.e. having regard to the medical reports submitted (to establish General Damages) and also having regard to the financial loss as a result of the injury, called Special Damages - for example, loss of earnings, cost of medical treatments etc.

The Injuries Board Service Centre is available on LoCall 1890 829 121 (open 8am to 8pm) to assist you to make your application or you could have a look at the information video or the Making a Claim page .

I hope you find this information helpful.

dazza21ie

injuriesboard wrote: »

Hi,

I work for the Injuries Board.

You can avoid solicitor fees by making your application directly to the Board for a €45 fee or you can get a solicitor to make an application on your behalf.

InjuriesBoard.ie is an independent statutory body established in 2004 and by law all claims for personal injury compensation must go to the Board (unless settled directly with insurance company).

Regardless of whether you make your application yourself or get a solicitor to do it for you each claim for compenstaion is treated the very same and is assessed on the same basis i.e. having regard to the medical reports submitted (to establish General Damages) and also having regard to the financial loss as a result of the injury, called Special Damages - for example, loss of earnings, cost of medical treatments etc.

The Injuries Board Service Centre is available on LoCall 1890 829 121 (open 8am to 8pm) to assist you to make your application or you could have a look at the information video or the Making a Claim page .

I hope you find this information helpful.

The Injuries Board may very well treat all applications the same whether they come from a lay person or a solicitor but they can only assess the information that is put in front of them.

There is more to making a claim than simply filling a form and this is why some people should really get professional advice.

tommy21

Its very simple in my opinion - an insurance company won't mess you around (as much) if you have a decent solicitor on board. For a minor injury I would not bother though. Good to see Injuries Board has a presence on here though. Is it an official person can a mod clarify?

chasm

I went through the Injuries Board process without a solicitor.

The insurance company made me an offer only a few days after my accident, and then made a higher offer just after i lodged my claim with the IB. I proceeded with the IB process and was happy enough with the assessment, which turned out to be 6 times what the insurance company offered me originally.
I felt very pressured by the insurance company who were trying to rush me into getting a medical and settling, but they backed off as soon as i told them i was going via the IB. I am amazed at what some people are charged for their GP medical reports, my GP only charged me €40 to do mine, which is what she charges for a consultation. I have to say that i was very happy with the injuries board process, i had to ring them quite a few times to clarify different things i wasnt sure about and found them very helpful. I have to say though that i did hold off on lodging my claim as my GP wanted to see how my injuries settled over time as she didnt feel it had settled enough to do a prognosis and also i was waiting on nerve tests etc.

Whereas i appreciate that some people's cases are complicated and will need a solicitor to achieve the best settlement, i do not agree with every case needing a solicitor - No offence to any solicitors on here;)

NUTLEY BOY

Insurers serve their interests not yours.

Darina

I work as a claims handler.

OP you should submit your claim to the Injuries Board. It would seem well within your capabilities to handle this process yourself. The IB are generous with their awards and in most cases their assessments are in line with what a Judge would offer. However you mentioned the loss of contracts of employment and the IB may refuse to assess your claim depending on how complex this issue is. You can always take legal advice when you receive the assessment and save yourself the legal fees.

And remember an insurance company has to make money too so they will try and save the pennys anywhere they can!

BengaLover

Thanks for the reply Darina.
As a claims handler is it true that the report is put through a 'system' and the 'system' calculates the figure, or does the claim handler decide the figure?

Darina

The claims handler will decide what the injuries are worth and will make an offer based on that. The initial offer would usually be based on the lower end of the value they have put on the injuries. So dont be surprised if you receive further offers from the insurance company. There is a Book of Quantum used as a guideline. It is available on the IB website.

rescue16

Darina wrote: »

I work as a claims handler.

OP you should submit your claim to the Injuries Board. It would seem well within your capabilities to handle this process yourself. The IB are generous with their awards and in most cases their assessments are in line with what a Judge would offer. However you mentioned the loss of contracts of employment and the IB may refuse to assess your claim depending on how complex this issue is. You can always take legal advice when you receive the assessment and save yourself the legal fees.

And remember an insurance company has to make money too so they will try and save the pennys anywhere they can!

Injuries Board assessments are NOT in line with what a judge would offer no where near to be honest .;)

nuac

1. Do not deal with the claims handler for the insurance company. (s)he is working for the company and not for you. There is one particular company with a reputation of pressurising injured parties to settle early - never a good idea.

2. Talk to a solicitor now.

3. It may sound cynical, but after many years experience claims are never entirely simple.

Darina

rescue16 wrote: »

Injuries Board assessments are NOT in line with what a judge would offer no where near to be honest .;)

What a judge offers will depend entirely on what he or she wants to offer, what impression the plaintiff makes on the day and obviously the contents of medicals. In any event I am sure the OP will have settled this matter long before any trial date is received. Injuries Board are reknowned in the insurance industry for been over generous with their assessments.