What is a Demand Letter?

In most cases, if you are injured in any type of accident and you make a claim to the insurance company (either the insurance company of the person who is at fault in the accident or to your own insurance company if the person who caused the accident has insufficient insurance coverage and you have uninsured motorist coverage), a demand letter has to eventually be prepared and sent to the assigned adjuster on your behalf.

The purpose of the demand letter is to present specific details about the accident in order to encourage the insurance company to provide a sufficient amount of compensation for your accident-related injuries. A demand letter will typically include the following information:

• Detailed description of how the accident occurred
• Detailed demonstration of accident liability
• Detailed description of injuries incurred due to the accident
• Detailed description of subsequent treatments that have been received for the accident-related injuries
• Medical bills and loss of income statements, if applicable, related to the accident-related injuries
• Any applicable photos, such as photos from the scene of the accident, photos of injuries, photos of any damaged property (i.e. photos of a car involved in the accident)
• Personal Injury Settlement Demand Amount

A comprehensive and strong demand letter can make all the difference when you are trying to get a satisfactory result for your personal injury claim. Attorney Marc L. Shapiro works to compose meticulous demand letters for the firm’s clients and compile all necessary supporting documents and details to present alongside a solid letter to the insurance adjuster assigned to the case.

Demand letters can be the most cost efficient way to resolve a claim as the attorney fees and overall costs will be lower if the case is settled than if the matter were to go to court to be litigated.

After a demand letter is sent, any of the following may occur:

• The demand may be accepted by the insurance company and the settlement may proceed. In this case, you may receive the compensation you requested for in the demand letter.

• The insurance company could make a counter-offer. In this case, you – the injured party – would have to consult with your personal injury attorney to decide whether you want to accept the counter-offer.

• The claim may be denied entirely by the insurance company and they may refuse to pay anything. This is the most rare of the three possibilities.