Do I even need a solicitor?

I had a road traffic accident a few months ago, and recently went back to work. The insurance company of the driver who knocked me off got in touch recently and told me that I don’t need a lawyer for my claim as they will deal with it directly. They paid for my bike repairs and damaged kit and have offered me £10,000 compensation. This seems reasonable to me, but I was wondering if I need a solicitor to check the value of my claim?

Frazer, by e-mail

Answer

It would be in your best interests to receive the correct amount of compensation, which would necessarily involve investigating your claim, whereas it would be in the insurer’s interests to pay as little money as possible, before the claim is fully investigated.

If you deal direct, there will be a disparity of information – you won’t know how the process works or how to accurately value your claim, whereas the insurer will.  This could allow the insurer to get away with paying less than they should, and potentially much less: my firm has frequently taken over cases involving early offers and has gone on to greatly exceeded them.

Insurers often make settlement offers very soon after an accident: before the injured person has seen a medical expert, and before they have had a full opportunity to investigate the injuries and their impact (be that in relation to ongoing symptoms or financial losses flowing from the accident).

It is not possible to accurately value a claim at such an early stage. Further, if you found out that you had a more serious injury or that the symptoms are long-lasting there would be no chance to go back for more if your case has been settled.

Put simply, you are likely to end up with more compensation if you instruct a solicitor.