Confessions of a Former Insurance Defense Lawyer: Five Tactics Used to Lower Your Payout

The insurance company has offered to settle your injury claim, but you’re still receiving treatment and don’t know what your recovery will ultimately cost. Accepting that offer could mean giving up your right to pursue additional compensation, even if your medical expenses keep growing.

In some cases, insurance companies may use your statements, arguments about fault, medical disputes, and negotiation delays to reduce what they pay. 

At Denning Law Firm, LLC, located in Overland Park, Kansas, our attorneys bring the perspective of a former insurance defense lawyer to injury claims throughout the Kansas City area. Our founder, William Denning, previously represented insurers and other defendants. Today, he works with his daughter, attorney Paeten Denning, to represent people injured by another party’s negligence.

If you have been presented with a settlement from an insurance company that may not cover your medical needs, contact us to schedule a free consultation. We can help you assess your settlement offer and understand the arguments behind it.

1. Pushing for Quick Settlements

Medical bills and missed paychecks can make an immediate payment appealing, especially when an adjuster suggests the matter can be resolved quickly. 

However, a settlement based on what you have spent so far may leave out future treatment, reduced earning ability, and compensation for pain and suffering. A quick offer isn't automatically unfair; the problem is when you lack the necessary information to evaluate it. 

A final settlement commonly includes a release. Once you sign, you generally cannot seek additional compensation from those covered by the release, even if your recovery takes longer than expected. Review the exact terms before agreeing. 

2. Using Your Words Against You

An insurer may use your own statements to challenge how the accident occurred or how seriously you were injured. For example, saying you felt “fine” immediately afterward could be contrasted with symptoms you reported days later. An uncertain account of the accident might also be presented as an admission of fault. 

Give accurate answers, avoid guessing, and say when you do not remember something. Before agreeing to a recorded statement, find out why it is requested and how it will be used. 

Your words aren’t the only source. Adjusters may ask you to sign a broad medical authorization that gives them access to your entire medical history, which they can use to search for preexisting conditions. Insurers also commonly review public social media posts for photos or comments that appear to contradict your injury claim. 

Your own insurance policy may require you to cooperate with an investigation, but you generally do not have the same contractual obligation to the other party’s insurer. 

3. Using Comparative Fault to Reduce Potential Payouts

An insurer can argue that you contributed to an accident and should receive less compensation. Missouri follows a pure comparative fault rule, which generally reduces damages by your share of responsibility rather than automatically barring recovery. For example, if your proven losses total $100,000 and you are found to be 20% at fault, your recovery would generally be reduced to $80,000.

In some cases, an adjuster may argue that you were distracted or could have avoided the collision. However, the insurer’s assessment is not a binding determination of fault. Photographs, witness accounts, accident reports, and other evidence can help test that position. If the accident happened in Kansas, the rule is stricter: Kansas generally bars recovery if you are 50% or more at fault. 

4. Questioning the Severity or Extent of Your Injuries

An insurer may accept that an accident happened while disputing the seriousness of your injuries, the treatment you needed, or whether the accident caused your symptoms. 

For example, prior treatment for back pain may prompt an argument that your current problems existed before the accident. However, if the accident worsened an existing condition, the additional harm it caused may still qualify for compensation. Similarly, a gap in treatment may raise questions without necessarily proving that an injury was minor. 

Our experienced Kansas City personal injury attorneys can examine your medical records, treatment recommendations, and evidence of how your injuries affect your work and daily activities.

5. Dragging Out Settlement Negotiations

Repeated requests for records, slow responses, and low offers can pressure you to settle, especially as medical bills and lost income accumulate. Some delays are legitimate because insurers need time to investigate; others may be harder to justify. 

Under Missouri Revised Statutes 375.1007, the improper claims practices law addresses conduct such as certain unreasonable delays and failures to explain settlement offers, when that conduct reflects conscious disregard of the law or a general business practice. These provisions concern regulatory enforcement and do not independently give you a private damages claim. 

Missouri also sets specific requirements for time-limited settlement demands to a liability insurer, including a response period of at least 90 days. A demand that doesn’t meet them may not be treated as a reasonable opportunity to settle, especially if the insurer later refuses an offer within the policy limits. 

Delays also matter because a filing deadline may continue running. Missouri generally grants you five years to file an ordinary personal injury lawsuit, while Kansas generally allows only two. Some claims have different deadlines, and settlement talks do not automatically extend them. 

How Should You Respond to a Low Settlement Offer?

Ask the insurer to explain its calculation in writing, including which losses it has included and which it disputes. Compare that explanation with your medical records, bills, employment records, and accident evidence. If the insurer assigns you partial fault or disputes your injuries, ask what supports that position, and review the proposed release carefully so you understand which claims you would give up. 

If you suspect improper claims handling, you may be able to raise the issue with the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance. The department can review certain complaints, but it cannot determine who caused an accident, set the value of your claim, or force a settlement. An attorney can assess whether further negotiation or a lawsuit is appropriate. 

Challenge an Unfair Settlement Offer with Denning Law Firm, LLC

Before founding Denning Law Firm, LLC in 2020, our attorney, William Denning, spent nearly 15 years defending insurers and other defendants. That experience shapes how we review settlement calculations, challenge medical evidence, and argue fault.  

If you have received a low settlement offer, our attorneys, William and Paeten Denning, can help you review the insurer’s position, identify missing evidence, and negotiate or pursue litigation when appropriate. 

If the insurer’s offer does not appear to reflect your losses, contact us to schedule a no-cost case review before signing a release. Located in Overland Park, Kansas, we serve clients throughout the Kansas City area.