Alan C

My lad has just received a payout for a severed finger (back on but irrepairably damaged above the knuckle).

The insurance was a 'Unit' based premium whereby they list certain damages at a fixed price per unit. You pay for 4 units and you get 4x the amount listed. Simple.

The settlement includes some disability premium and doesn't appear to reflect what was listed in the 'menu system' for his injury... in fact it is higher than we expected...

Is it worth 'negotiating' on this type of scheme to get some more or is it easier to settle and walk away?

I am suing as well, so this is the first of two possible claims for him.

Any Insurance guys out there?

Alan C

No Insurance bods in the first 40 views?

wez_sti

not sure about this point system, but when i had an accident at McDonalds i took their 4th or 5th offer, each time they'd say 'we cant go any higher than that' the last one which i accepted they sent an official letter stating if i didnt accept it would go to court....

BOB.T

Look at it from the insurers point of view, they're in it to make money, they're not bothered about you and will want to pay out as little as they can!

just kick up a fuss

lpski1

My mate, who now has a Paralysed arm due to being knocked off his motor bike, settled out of court on the 3rd offer !! an increase of around £30k from their first one. !! *****

mgg

When my sister had a car accident, she was at first offered a stupid amount. she told them no chance, with time off work and not being able to do normal routine things until she was back to normal she felt she should receive more.
They offered her a different payout a few weeks later, she took that as it was more than double what she was offered in the first place.

Insurance companies have a max figure they will pay out. They certainly dont offer you that at first as they know they can get away with paying you less, so refuse the first figure and see what they come back with.

Markus

I've made a few claims (not injury related though), and I've never accepted the first offer, simply as they will make a low offer, they'd be mad not to. I usually accept the 3rd or 4th offer as it's about what I feel, and ususally know, the car to be worth, or the cost of the repairs. I've not yet been told "that is as high as we can go" so maybe I am being short changed, but I've always been happy with what I've got.

Boro

iTrader: (1)

From my limited knowledge, arent there guidlelines that solicitors follow when calculating how much an injury is worth? Im pretty sure in my first claim, the solicitor checked similar injuries/payouts and based the amount on that.

The know pretty much how much an injury is worth in court from past cases.

Mark Miwurdz

Sorry to hear about your lad......but as the above thread suggests, never accept the first offer. They're a business like any other business and the less they pay out, the more profitable they are. Hang on in there.

Cheers
Kav

p@ul

I broke my arm in 7 places at work 3 years ago and i sued them for unsafe working conditions,i was offered 8k and my solicitor said to me "you aint accepting that" i ended up with 12.5k on the second offer
Best part was when reading out the 2 bosses i was suing the solicitor said to me "thats a coincidence he has the same surname as you " i said yeah he's my dad

Jerome

You had to sue your old man!!! That must have put a dampener on family get-togethers...

talizman

iTrader: (1)

Bet family parties are a right blast at your house?

p@ul

Nah not a problem,it was his idea he says we pay the insurance enough every year i might as well get it back lol

Terzo 333

And you wonder why insurance premiums are so high Idiots like you don't help thats for sure...

Un fecking believable

ProperCharlie

funny that he didn't say "you're right - working conditions are unsafe here. i'll get a health & safety consultant in to make things safer and ensure nothing similar happens again."

OllyK

OK reading between the lines, somebody (You, your son or the company he works for) has taken out a special injury cover insurance plan. These usually state that you will get £X for the loss of a finger, £Y for the loss of an arm etc. In these cases I doubt very much if you will get any movement on that value as they have stated up front what will be paid for a given injury, not like a car accident where you try to claim how much you "think" the injury may be "worth".

Where you may well be able to negotiate is on compensation from the employer if they are found to be negligent in terms of working practices, do remember you are also responsible for yourself to a degree for your own health and safety.

p@ul

Hey terzo you moron i was off work unpaid for 7 months with a 1 week old baby and just bought a fookin house my wife works part time so dont you criticize me for looking after my familys interests you muppet!!

p@ul

Proper charlie,he did dont make assumptions from a bit of typing on a screen m8

ProperCharlie

ok - fair play to him then.

Terzo 333

So why did you put "lol" at the end of your original post then ? Hardly something to "laugh out loud" about is it ???

The way you posted it it seemed like it was a big joke that you'd shafted your insurance company...

p@ul

Wrong choice of typing on my behalf,bit of a habit putting lol and the end of things lol