How Insurance Companies Value Injuries

determining value

How does an insurance company place a value on your injuries? They don’t quite throw up numbers in the air and pick one, but nearly all of them do throw all your data into a computer program called Colossus and let it come up with a number. Colossus is used in more than half of all insurance claims in the US and has been adopted by the top insurance companies, including Allstate, Aetna, Travelers, Metlife and Farmers.

How the Colossus Program Estimates a Settlement Value

This program remains clouded in secrecy as neither the insurance companies nor the program developer will share the exact details of how it works. But insiders have allowed us a slight peek into the system.

The insurance adjuster assigned to your accident will type into Colossus a wide range of information that helps the program determine place a value on your injuries. Some of the data used includes:

  • Type of injury—injuries and symptoms are given a severity value, so a bone break is worth more than soft tissue damage.
  • Location of accident
  • Any delay in seeking treatment or gaps in treatment
  • Type of treatment—a specialist is given a higher value than a general practitioner. A chiropractor is given little value.
  • Whether physical therapy is needed
  • Any permanent damage
  • Lawyers involved—whether they have a history of taking any offer given by insurance companies or going to court if an inferior offer is made.

One important piece of data not considered very well by the program is the degree of pain and suffering you experience.  It is not possible for a computer program to put a price on stress, trauma, how your daily life is affected and how this injury has caused you emotional pain and suffering.

As for what the program does consider, your injury’s value is very much based on what that adjuster types into the system. Therefore, it is very important to make sure key words about your accident are on your medical report. You need to be specific with your doctors and make sure to report all symptoms you experience, because some of these will influence your claim.

Your claim is also influenced by the lawyers you pick and their history with the insurance companies. We are proud to say that we are willing and often do fight with insurance companies when we feel their offer is inferior. We have been able to get our clients significantly more—sometimes without even going to court—by standing up for what we believe they deserve. And we are able to back it up with the evidence and medical reports  we know they need based on our experience. Many personal injury lawyers will not do this because it does take time and does not guarantee any extra benefit.

Let Our Experienced Lawyers Get You The Maximum Compensation You Deserve

In our 25 years of experience, we have worked with all the main insurance companies. Our Long Island injury attorneys know exactly how to help you get the maximum compensation and we work with a team of top medical experts and investigators to help back up our claims and fight for your rights.

Call us today for a free consultation and we can discuss your specific case.

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