The Top 5 Ways to Obtain Higher Settlements Offers
To obtain maximum settlement offers in personal injury cases, you must understand how bodily injury claims are evaluated by the insurance industry.
The widespread use of bodily injury claim software like Colossus, ClaimIQ, and Liability Navigator has fundamentally changed how insurance companies determine their settlement offers. Over 90% of auto claims are now assessed using these insurance software systems. These programs utilize algorithms and early forms of artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure adjustors make consistently low offers that increase insurance company profits. They also present unique challenges and opportunities for personal injury attorneys.
In this article we discuss the top five "value drivers" in personal injury claims that are crucial to obtaining maximum settlement values from insurance companies. Settlement Intelligence is based on over 20 years of research and demand letter testing. Our technology uses a proprietary method that focuses your demand letters on the facts that directly impact the settlement offers to your clients.
Did you know you were negotiating with a computer? Understanding the AI Negotiator
The first step in obtaining better settlement offers is acknowledging that your claims are being evaluated by a computer system. Acknowledging this reality helps you shift your strategy from a purely human approach to one that optimizes your demand letters for the way insurers actually evaluate personal injury claims. The question then becomes: How can you ensure your demand letters contain everything the adjuster needs to trigger the insurance company software to obtain the highest settlement offer?
Medical Records Provide Primary Evidence
Your client's medical records provide proof of the client's personal injury claim. These documents are a goldmine of information that, when presented correctly, can significantly influence the adjuster’s evaluation. But, it's not just about including all the medical information in the case, or creating a medical timeline style demand (a horrible idea). To obtain maximum settlement offers, you need to find specific facts of value to the insurance software and put them in an order within the demand letter that feeds the necessary information to the insurance adjuster.
The Top 5 "Value Drivers" in Personal Injury Claims
1. Injuries / Diagnosis
The most important factor for settlement value of any personal injury claim are the injury diagnoses. Your demand letter must include an ICD code for every injury. Decades of legal consulting on demand letters has taught us that low offers can be the result of some of the client's injuries being undiagnosed, or not correctly charted by doctors or health care facilities.
Accurate and comprehensive medical records are essential to support your demand letter. But the demand letter itself must also clearly state all ICD codes and the name of the diagnoses to ensure that insurance AI recognizes the severity and impact of the client's injuries.
2. Permanent Impairment
If the injuries result in a permanent impairment, this significantly impacts the settlement offer. Evidence of permanent impairment must be clearly documented and calculated by a physician utilizing the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment.
3. Prognosis
The victim's prognosis plays a crucial role in the evaluation process. Information on the expected recovery time, potential for future medical interventions, and any long-term health implications are vital. Prognosis in insurance claim software does not use the same prognosis categories as most doctors. Instead, bodily injury software like Colossus seeks a prognosis based on whether or not there are complaints and further treatment required.
4. Duties Under Duress
Disability ratings used by doctors are not used by insurance claim software. Instead the different computer systems use a variety of different factors to infer the impact of disability. As one example, Colossus replaced disability with a unique set of questions under the category of "Duties Under Duress."
Duties Under Duress focuses on the claimant's ability to perform daily tasks and other requirements of life while in pain. Approximately 100 factors, each of separate monetary value, address how the injuries have affected the client's ability to work, perform household tasks, or engage in other activities. To substantiate a Duties Under Duress claim, the client's health care records must provide evidence that the client continued to perform certain activities of daily living despite their pain.
In terms of writing demand letters, these Duties Under Duress factors, discovered by Settlement Intelligence co-founder, Aaron DeShaw, are subject to intellectual property protections and are exclusive to the Settlement Intelligence platform.
5. Loss of Enjoyment of Life
Lastly, the impact of the injuries on the client's quality of life is an important factor in the settlement offer. "Loss of Enjoyment of Life" is one of the phrases used by insurance claim software to discuss how the injuries have impacted the client's job, family life, education, hobbies, leisure activities, and overall quality of life. Over 100 specific factors, each of separate monetary value, address how the injuries have impacted the client's quality of life. Outlining these changes effectively can significantly influence the claim's value. Remember to note how long your client was unable to perform the activity, and which injuries were preventing them.
In terms of writing demand letters, these Loss of Enjoyment of Life factors, discovered by Settlement Intelligence co-founder, Aaron DeShaw, are subject to intellectual property protections and are exclusive to the Settlement Intelligence platform.
Obtain Higher Settlement Offers with AI Demand Letter Automation
Settlement Intelligence addresses the challenge of optimizing demand letters for claims evaluation software with its pioneering AI Demand Letter automation solutions. This tool not only streamlines the process of generating demand letters but does so in a way that strategically triggers insurance AI systems to provide better settlement offers. It uses the most effective method of writing demand letters - providing the information of value to the insurance company software systems, including hundreds of factors exclusive to the Settlement Intelligence platform.
Early adopters have seen a 15% increase in first offers within just 12 weeks of subscribing, and in 2023, users appreciated 300% higher settlement outcomes in just 90 days.
All levels of the Settlement Intelligence platform optimize demand letters for insurance claim software leading to the above results for our small, medium and large personal injury law firm customers. In 2023 alone we released five free upgrades to continue improving our customer's success.
Each of the major bodily injury software systems evaluate claims differently, with different factors and different names for certain claims. With Settlement Intelligence Professional and Enterprise licenses, the demand letter, factors involved, and claim language changes to optimize your client's demand letter for the insurer.
Increase your settlement offers with Settlement Intelligence
As personal injury attorneys navigate the complexities of AI-driven claims evaluations, understanding and leveraging these top five value drivers becomes essential. By focusing on the factors provided monetary value by insurers, and utilizing Settlement Intelligence's AI Demand Letter automation software, law firms can significantly improve the value they deliver to personal injury clients. For those looking to gain a competitive edge and maximize settlement outcomes, embracing these technological advancements is not just an option—it's a necessity. Visit our website today to learn more about how Settlement Intelligence can transform your approach to personal injury claims.