Common question
Should I accept the insurance company's first offer?
The short answer
Almost never, and never before you know how your injuries resolve. A first offer arrives early because early is when a case is cheapest to close. Signing the release ends the claim permanently, even if you need treatment a month later.
Why the offer came so fast
A quick offer is not generosity and it is not an admission. It is arithmetic. The cheapest moment to close an injury claim is before anyone knows how bad the injury is, and before the injured person has talked to a lawyer.
Adjusters are measured on what they pay out. An early cheque that closes a file permanently is a good result for them. That is their job, and they are usually pleasant about it.
The release is the part that matters
To take the money you sign a release. That document ends your claim. All of it. Forever.
If you accept in month one and need a procedure in month four, there is no going back to ask for more. The file is closed, and the release you signed is the reason. This is the single most expensive mistake an injured person can make, and it is made with a pen and a smile.
Things people are told that are not true
- "This offer expires Friday." Manufactured urgency. Real claims do not evaporate on a deadline the adjuster picked.
- "You do not need a lawyer for this." Advice from the party that pays less if you do not have one.
- "This is the most our policy allows." Sometimes true. Frequently not, and it is checkable.
- "We just need a quick recorded statement first." That recording exists to be used against you later.
What to do instead
- Do not sign anything, and do not cash the cheque
- Keep every document, including the offer letter
- Keep treating until your doctor releases you, not until you feel able to cope
- Decline the recorded statement until you have spoken to a lawyer
- Have someone read the release before it is anywhere near a pen
When taking an early offer is actually reasonable
Sometimes it is, and Boyd will say so rather than manufacture a case.
If your injuries were genuinely minor, you have finished treating, you are back to normal, and the offer fairly covers the bills and time you lost, taking it and moving on can be the right call. The test is whether the medical picture is complete — not whether the number sounds large.
A free call costs you nothing and the release costs you everything
Before you sign, get a second opinion on the number. Boyd takes that call himself, and if the offer is fair he will tell you to take it.
Still have a question?
Boyd answers the phone himself. The first conversation is free and obligates you to nothing.