The Negotiation Screen – A gem for settling cases with insurance adjusters

So you want to settle cases. Who doesn’t? Sure beats having the proverbial day in court. And who can complain about getting paid early and wrapping up a case with a satisfied, happy client? But as you well know, while settlement negotiations can often be fruitful they can also be a drain on staff and firm productivity and profitability. Here’s one area that SmartAdvocate, as the premier case management system on the market, can really help.

A lot of time is spent on the phone with insurance companies and adjusters discussing the relative merits of your particular case. This is time well spent, and expected. But a lot of time is also consumed attempting to contact your adversary’s carrier, or trying to return or schedule a call. This is time that can be spent doing other things, hence not very productive. But a small change in the way you interact with the carrier and their adjuster can free up some additional time for you.

How about this all too familiar scenario? The adjuster for whom you’ve left a voicemail returns your call. Or you get a call asking if you are interested in discussing a case with an eye towards settling it. Of course the call comes in when you are you are busy, but then when aren’t you? You need time to review the file so you can have a meaningful and intelligent negotiation discussion in which you put your best arguments forward. So you tell your staff to take a message, and that you’ll call back later. And when you do call back you’re more than likely to get a similar response. The adjuster you’re trying to reach will be on the phone, out to lunch, left for the day, in a meeting – well, you get the idea. Welcome to the productivity eating pastime of telephone tag.

Fortunately, SmartAdvocate has a solution for you. Why don’t you – wait for it – take the call? Would you be convinced if I could show you that in almost no time at all you can have all the information you need to conduct a meaningful and hopefully successful negotiation right at your fingertips? That’s right, there really is no need to dodge that call. Let me show you.

Start by opening in the file in SmartAdvocate. Peruse all or part of the Case Summary Screen to give you an idea of what’s going on with the case at that moment. You now have the background of the case. I would pay particular attention to the notes, task and calendar sections.

Next, open the Negotiation/Settlement screen with a quick click on the Negotiation/Settlement tab on the right side of the screen.

Here you’ll be able to pour through all of the negotiations and /or settlements that have taken place for the instant case. You want to quickly prepare to discuss this case with a particular carrier and adjuster.

So another quick click on the ‘Settlement View’ tab opens with a screen where you’ll find all the information you need. You don’t have to open or tunnel through multiple screens to assemble the information you need. It’s all there, on one screen, ready and waiting for you.

On that one screen you will find a rendition of the facts, the injuries, the insurance coverage, the liens, the disbursements and the last demand and offer made. Everything you need in one tidy package. The information is laid out for you in an intuitive and easy to comprehend format that you canactually peruse while you are speaking with the adjuster.

Now comes the hard part – convincing the adjuster that you have a strong case. Assembling the information for your use was quick and easy thanks to SmartAdvocate. But that’s why you get the big bucks.

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