Settlement Intelligence has launched its Minor Impact letter to licensing customers.
Insurers started using the "Minor Impact" or "Minor Impact Soft Tissue ("MIST") defense in the mid 1990s when Allstate implemented its CCPR claim adjusting protocol. As discussed in the book "From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves" Dr. Michael Freeman discusses how there was never scientific substantiation correlating minor vehicle damage with no occupant injury. Yet that is how insurers defend these cases.
At some insurers there are specific adjusters or units that handle minor impact cases. Some insurers refer a high percentage of minor impact claims to the insurer's Special Investigations Unit ("SIU") or fraud investigation unit. In most cases, all claims with "minor impact" or MIST designation get very low offers for the bodily injury claim, regardless of the severity of injury. A typical offer in a MIST claim may be as low as $3,000.
There are a number of factors that allow an insurance adjuster to remove a claim from the minor impact unit. Settlement Intelligence is aware of these factors from non-protected internal insurance company documents as well as our 20+ year history interviewing former insurance adjusters and claim supervisors. We now put that knowledge to use in your minor impact cases.
This new feature helps lawyers write letters that helps identify specific factors that allow an insurance adjuster to remove the claim from a minor impact or "MIST" designation and move them into a claim handling unit where the bodily injury claim can get a full evaluation rather than a lowball offer.
This letter is part of a Settlement Intelligence subscription. It is on the dashboard of all users. License Settlement Intelligence today to get access to this letter that can make the difference between a very low offer and a more reasonable offer for your clients' bodily injury case.