Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 1/25/2012

Question
I was a passenger in a auto accident in Florida. The driver was clearly at fault. Being from Massachusetts, I have had to collect only from my insurance company for medical expenses.  I hit my head and jolted forward, the airbags did not deploy.  I have whiplash, cannot drive, and presently am undergoing physical therapy.  I was renting a house in Florida for 4 weeks, of which this happened the first week.  I had to have someone come from home to help me back home and lost the enjoyment of the rental I paid for, together wil other expenses.

I have been advised to contact the other agent to be compensated for pain, suffering and expenses.  I have spoken to a lawyer, who advised me to try to settle the the insured's company.

Should I call the agent, and what other advice can you give.

Thanks for your time.

Answer
Hi Alayne,

Yes, you can contact the claims adjuster of the at fault driver. Before you call you should write down all of the possible expenses you can think of including your medical expenses, therapy, mileage back and forth to your doctor and therapy, the actual time you have spent dealing with doctors, your insurance company, etc. (charge $20.00 per hour for your time, your pain & suffering (3 times the total of your medical bills)the cost of your rental in Florida, the cost of your transportation back to home, and anything else you can reasonably think of. Write these all out on paprt and total them all out. This total will be the amount of your demand to settle the claim. Of course you should expect the claims adjuster to try to significantly reduce this figure. This is a process of negotiation that require several rounds of back and forth before it is over. You may want to send your demand in the form of a formal demand letter. You may need an attorneys help in puting it together. If the insurance company does not seemm to be treating you fairly, you may need to hire an attorney to handle the claim for you.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh