Can you tell me the top secrets of an insurance adjuster? One of my readers wrote… The answer isn’t simple since there are many strategies out there to help you settle for less. We can talk about property damages, wages, pain and suffering and rental cars. I’ll also share the most commonly used techniques and secrets of insurance adjusters when negotiating. They were the ones that I was taught by my insurance company when I worked for them.
- Musical chairs – A very common technique. Adjusters love to “change”, reassign, or “exchange” claims. Many times, an adjuster supervisor will step in and rescind the claim. This allows you the opportunity to renegotiate any settled points. The insurance company can isolate different issues by working with new adjusters. Joe will settle the total amount, Ben will settle his fault, and Karen the injury. In this way, insurance adjusters are able to “throw the ball” among themselves and not have to give you straight answers. “Well sir. I believe the answer to be A. But you will need to speak to Ben and he will be out of the office for about a week.”
- Change the shape of money – “I am very sorry that you had a headache and lower back pain for more than two weeks. This is truly a shame. At most, we can only give you “$2,500”, which is enough to pay for a two-person trip to Mexico. You can treat yourself to a Caribbean cruise with your wife. This is very powerful. This is just one of many powerful strategies used by adjusters every day. The offer for a younger person would be $250 for an IPod, or PSP. This will “help” the injured party to spend the money and make them want to settle. This is why you should not settle for pain. You want money and not IPods or cruises, Laptops, IPods, or Video Games.
- Time of day – Adjusters may call you when it is not convenient for them. Yes, they will give you time to explain their position. But, they won’t allow you to counter. They are likely to hate me for telling them one of the most ignorant secrets about insurance adjusters. They will call when you get ready to go to work at 7:30 AM. They will put pressure on your shoulders so that you settle down right away. It makes you feel like “I’m done dealing with these people”. I can just accept it and go on with my day. This can be turned around. You can call the adjuster before or after they go on a three-day weekend. The adjuster is eager to leave the office and return home. You can negotiate a better deal if they want to visit their family.
- Insurance Companies have a wonderful time of year at Christmas. Every one seems to be broke right before or after Christmas. Even if your religion isn’t Christian, it seems the retail industry can convince you to spend more than you have. Most people end up broke around that time. Insurance companies pressure adjusters (I was one) to be aggressive during this time. This technique is also used for holidays. This is how it works. What do you need to buy the toys for your kids? You don’t have the money to buy toys for your children. The time is great for adjusters, who are smart and savvy. My experience was that December and January were the most successful months to settle claims. Our success rate grew by 70%.
- The Mute Button-one the most powerful secrets of an insurance adjuster. I was taught to offer an offer, then hit the muffle button. Once an offer was made, the rule was that you could not make any noise. This worked often. This was a way to ensure that you wouldn’t make another offer during the same conversation. If my offer was $10,000, I would like to hear your response. I didn’t want to offer $10,000, but I would be happy to settle for $11,000 if you agreed today. This would be considered bidding on one’s own. An adjuster will not offer you two different offers during the same conversation, unless they are properly trained. They will make an offer, then wait for you to respond. This can be used against the insurance company. You can counter the offer by hitting the Mute button