Like most residents of northwest Georgia, you live your life responsibly. Not only do you go to work every day and care for your family, but you also drive with care. Unfortunately, distracted truck drivers can bring your life to a standstill in a matter of seconds.
Few accidents are scarier than those involving a large truck. Because your car is significantly smaller than an 18-wheeler, you may have significant property damage. You may also sustain serious injuries. While settling your insurance claim may be the right course of action, you want to be certain the settlement is fair. When determining whether the offer is too low, you must consider some factors.
Insurance policy terms
Before you can evaluate the fairness of your settlement offer, you must know what your insurance policy covers. You must also fully understand the truck driver’s coverage. As you probably know, you can only recover for damages that these insurance policies cover. For damages outside policy terms, you may have to explore other options.
Fault
Insurance adjusters often want to assign more fault to you than you deserve. If your insurer determines you contributed to the accident, your settlement offer may be shockingly low. As such, you may need to exercise your legal right to refute findings of fault.
Medical treatment
Truck collisions often cause serious bodily injury. Therefore, victims of these accidents generally require long-term and comprehensive care. When evaluating the fairness of a settlement offer, you must consider your past, current and future medical needs.
Property damage
While your personal well-being is probably your top concern, you cannot forget about damage to your vehicle and personal property. Often, insurance providers use unfair depreciated values to determine compensation. This approach can leave you with inadequate funds to replace your vehicle and other items after a collision.
Colliding with a semitruck is something you never want to do. Nonetheless, regardless of your driving ability, you may swap paint with a large commercial vehicle. If you do, you must be certain your insurance settlement is fair. By understanding insurance coverage and considering all of your damages, you put yourself in a better position to negotiate a meaningful settlement.