Casey is a founding partner at River Run Law Group. Casey has tried numerous cases across the Commonwealth in both General District Court and Circuit Court. He has earned millions of dollars for his clients through trials, mediations, and settlements.
Were you recently in a car accident and wondering, How to write a demand letter to an insurance company? You might feel overwhelmed and anxious if you have never written a demand letter.
An insurance demand letter is one of the most critical initial steps to obtaining compensation for your injury; writing an effective and accurate demand is essential to receiving the compensation you deserve, but it can feel like a daunting task, so we put together a list of seven tips for writing a demand letter to the insurance company.
If you still need or want help drafting your letter, our experienced personal injury attorneys are here to help.
1. Detail Your Version of Events
While your demand letter must remain factual, accurate, and composed, you should also convey your version of events. It is an excellent idea to provide background and details about what happened from your perspective. These details do not have to be elaborate and should remain factual and concise, but they are important. It lets the insurance adjuster know what occurred from your point of view.
2. Gather & Organize Your Expenses
You need to get organized before putting pen to paper and writing your demand letter. The first thing you should do is determine your out-of-pocket expenses to date. You want to collect your receipts, invoices, and estimates to add up your damages. These can include:
- Medical bills,
- Lost wages,
- Auto shop repair invoices,
- The cost of a replacement vehicle, and
- Cost of a rental car.
By adding these costs, you will have an accurate idea of your past expenses due to the accident. Equally as important as gathering documents, evidence, and expenses, you must keep them neat and organized.
Having everything in one place can keep you from losing important information and documents you might need later. Clean, organized, and neat copies of documents will make drafting your demand letter and potential negotiations or litigation easier.
3. Calculate Anticipated Expenses
Similar but often a lot more complex, you must calculate your anticipated future expenses. This is more important than determining your expenses to date. You might be asking yourself why that is. The answer is simple.
Car accidents, especially those resulting in severe injuries, can impact your life for years to come. Permanent injuries or disabilities can require lifelong medical treatment and care. They can also need things such as home or vehicle modifications.
It is imperative to factor in the estimated costs of future surgeries, therapies, and replacement vehicles. While it is nearly impossible to calculate a precise dollar amount for anticipated costs, with the help of your lawyer and doctors, you can gain a pretty good idea of how much money you may need throughout your life.
4. Detail the Negative Impact the Accident Has Had on Your Life
While you will have economic damages, such as medical expenses due to a car wreck, you will almost certainly have noneconomic damages. Your noneconomic damages are your subjective losses or the negative impacts of the accident and injuries on your life. These include:
- Pain and suffering and inconvenience,
- Mental anguish, and
- Loss of enjoyment of your life.
In your demand letter, it is important to include details about the accident’s negative impact on your life. Conveying your emotions and personal losses in your letter in a factual, detailed, and organized manner can mean the difference in a significant settlement.
5. Discuss Your Road to Recovery
Your demand letter will list your medical expenses and treatment costs. However, you also want to detail your road to recovery. You will list the cost of each doctor visit and surgery, but you also want to provide a detailed account of where, when, and what type of treatment you have received.
For instance, you want to let them know you have had to undergo multiple surgeries, extensive rehabilitation and therapy, doctor visits, trips to the emergency room, and any other details about how difficult it has been to put your life back together.
6. Include a Fair and Reasonable Demand Amount
Once you have calculated your past and future expenses and detailed your noneconomic damages, it is time to put your demand amount in your letter. You want to ensure this number is fair and reasonable enough to compensate you adequately for your damages.
One of the biggest tips we can give you is to make a demand higher than you are willing to settle for. Insurance companies rarely receive a demand and agree to pay it immediately. Instead, they will counter your demand and negotiate a smaller settlement amount. Including a slightly higher demand allows room to negotiate before reaching your bottom line settlement amount.
7. Review Your Letter Before Sending It
It is essential to review and re-read your demand letter to catch spelling or grammatical errors and ensure its accuracy. You want to ensure you have the right tone, information, dates, and dollar amounts.
Always proofread your letter before sending it. While you can proofread right after writing it, we always recommend you walk away for a few hours or a day and look at it again with fresh eyes.
Schedule Your 100% Free Consultation with a Virginia Personal Injury Attorney
If you or someone you love was recently involved in a car accident and find yourself overwhelmed with trying to draft a demand letter, don’t fret. Drafting a compelling demand letter can be challenging, especially if the accident results in severe injuries and damages.
It can be difficult to calculate a fair yet adequate demand. At River Run Law, we can help. As seasoned personal injury and car accident attorneys, we can assist you with drafting an accurate, strong, and convincing demand letter to the insurance company.
Contact us to schedule a free initial consultation to find out how our team can help you get the justice and compensation you deserve.
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