You’ve been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault. You filed a claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company, expecting fair compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Instead, the insurance adjuster calls with an offer that’s shockingly low—nowhere near enough to cover your actual damages.
Sound familiar? Insurance companies routinely make lowball settlement offers because they’re for-profit businesses that maximize profits by minimizing what they pay out on claims. Insurance adjusters are often incentivized with bonuses based on how much money they save the company, which means their goal is to get you to accept as little as possible—not to make sure you’re fairly compensated.
Here’s what you need to know about the tactics insurance companies use to shortchange injury victims, and why having Noakes Law Group in your corner changes everything.
The Real Reason Behind Lowball Offers
Insurance companies aren’t in the business of helping people—they’re in the business of making money. The less they pay out in claims, the more profit they keep. It’s really that simple.
Insurance adjusters know that most accident victims don’t understand how much their claim is actually worth. Valuing a personal injury claim involves calculating current and future medical expenses, lost income, loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and how the injuries have impacted your quality of life. These are complex calculations that most people have never done before.
The insurance company exploits your lack of knowledge and experience to offer you far less than your claim is worth—and they’re counting on you accepting it before you talk to a lawyer.
The Dirty Tactics Insurance Companies Use
Insurance adjusters are trained professionals who use specific strategies to pressure injury victims into accepting lowball offers. Here are the most common tactics you need to watch out for:
The Quick Settlement Offer
The adjuster calls you shortly after your accident, expresses sympathy, and makes a settlement offer that might sound like a lot of money at first. Don’t be fooled. Initial offers are almost always lowball offers designed to close your case quickly before you realize the full extent of your injuries or consult with an attorney.
Exploiting Your Financial Desperation
Insurance companies know you’re probably facing mounting medical bills and may be unable to work due to your injuries. They assume you need money fast and will jump at any settlement offer, even if it’s far less than what you deserve. Adjusters often use high-pressure tactics, telling victims they must accept the offer immediately or risk getting nothing at all.
Downplaying Your Injuries
To justify a low offer, the adjuster may claim your injuries aren’t as serious as you say they are, suggest they’re pre-existing conditions, or argue they’re unrelated to the accident. They’re trying to minimize the severity of your damages so they can justify paying you less.
Disputing Liability
Even when fault seems obvious, adjusters will often claim their insured isn’t entirely to blame or suggest that you’re partially at fault. This is designed to make you accept some responsibility so they can reduce your settlement based on comparative negligence.
Delay and Frustration Tactics
The insurance company may ask for extensive documentation, request medical records going back years, or repeatedly delay processing your claim. These tactics are meant to drag out the process until you get so frustrated that you’ll accept a low offer just to be done with it.
Using Computer Software to Undervalue Your Claim
Many insurance companies use sophisticated algorithms and software programs to calculate settlement offers. These programs are designed to benefit the insurance company first—producing the lowest possible figure based on similar past settlements. They fail to account for the unique circumstances of your case and your individual suffering.
The Permanent Consequences of Accepting Too Soon
Here’s the critical thing most people don’t realize: once you accept a settlement offer and sign the release, you can never go back and ask for more money. Even if your injuries turn out to be more severe than you initially thought, even if complications develop, even if you discover you need surgery down the road—you’re stuck with whatever amount you accepted.
This is exactly what insurance companies are counting on. They want to settle your case before you’ve completed medical treatment, before you fully understand the long-term impact of your injuries, and before you’ve had a chance to calculate what you’ll actually need to cover all your damages.
Why Having Noakes Law Group in Your Corner Changes Everything
Insurance companies know one thing for certain: accident victims who hire experienced personal injury lawyers end up with significantly higher settlements than those who try to handle claims on their own.
When you have Noakes Law Group representing you, everything changes. Here’s why:
We Know What Your Claim Is Really Worth
We’ve handled hundreds of personal injury cases and know exactly how to calculate the full value of your claim—including damages you might not even realize you’re entitled to. We won’t let the insurance company shortchange you on pain and suffering, future medical expenses, or lost earning capacity.
We Speak Their Language
Insurance adjusters are trained negotiators. We’re trained negotiators too, and we know all their tactics because we’ve seen them a thousand times before. When they try to use delay tactics, dispute liability, or pressure you into a quick settlement, we shut it down immediately.
We’re Not Desperate—And They Know It
Unlike injury victims who are facing financial pressure and desperately need money now, we have the resources and patience to fight for what’s fair. Insurance companies know we’re not afraid to take a case to trial if they won’t make a reasonable offer. That alone puts significant pressure on them to negotiate in good faith.
We Handle Everything So You Can Focus on Healing
You shouldn’t have to fight with insurance adjusters while you’re trying to recover from your injuries. We handle all communication with the insurance company, gather evidence to build your case, work with medical experts to document your injuries, and fight aggressively for every dollar you deserve.
Don’t Let Them Take Advantage of You
If you’ve been injured in an accident and the insurance company has made you a lowball offer—or if they’re using any of the tactics we’ve described—don’t accept it and don’t try to negotiate on your own.
Contact Noakes Law Group today for a free, no-obligation consultation. We’ll review your case, explain what your claim is really worth, and fight to get you the full and fair compensation you deserve. You pay nothing unless we win, so you have absolutely nothing to lose by calling us.
The insurance companies have lawyers protecting their interests. You need Noakes Law Group protecting yours.