If there’s one thing that Acworth car accident lawyers understand, it’s the process of dealing with insurance adjusters and the numerous ways in which they attempt to devalue an injury victim’s claim. One of the newest ones is through the use of sophisticated insurance adjuster software.
There have been a number of articles written recently on claims adjuster software like Colossus which is marketed to insurance companies as the premier insurance claims software. This software allows adjusters to plug in numbers into various fields and then Colossus will spit out a number that is far less than you can probably get with an attorney. Insurance agencies like Allstate use this software to reduce the value of claims filed against their policies. Many have remarked that the software seems to favor the insurance companies in its evaluations.
Colossus Manages Claims for Half of All Insurance Companies
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If you’re in a car accident in Acworth, the chances are 50/50 that you’ll be dealing with a company that uses the Colossus software. This software has been in use since the 90s and Allstate was the first insurance company to use it. On the surface, Allstate said that they wanted a way to standardize the processing of claims. That’s all well and good, but the process is hardly objective. Furthermore, the software asserts some assumptions of debatable validity.
Two similar products exist on the market today that have not yet attained the same level of infamy as Colossus. These include “Claims Outcome Advisor” and “Claims IQ.” Claims IQ also produces another piece of software which helps insurance adjusters decide whether or not they should pay the entire medical bill in PIP or MedPay claims.
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These types of software programs have a list of all lawyers in an area that handle personal injury claims. If one lawyer is prone to settling and doesn’t seem willing to take their cases before a jury or even into litigation, the software knows that and the insurance adjuster can lowball their offer. So if you’re going to have an Acworth car accident attorney handle your case, you will probably want to know if they’ve taken cases before a jury in the past.
The Rules Governing Colossus and Other Claims Software
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Essentially, the rules are the software and much of that information is proprietary. However, we do have some information about how it works. The software takes into account the various aspects of your claim. This includes the type and severity of your injuries alongside any permanent impairments or disfigurements. These values are known as escalators because they increase the value of a potential claim.
There are other values that act as limiters and reduce the value of your claim. These can include rules such as how long it took you between the date when the accident occurred and seeing a doctor. The longer the space between those two actions, the more likely it is that the software will reduce the value of your claim.
Yet herein lies the problem. The insurance software doesn’t take into account injuries such as concussions or back problems that may have been ticking timebombs requiring the slightest nudge before they went off.
Data Produced by Colossus
While many have remarked that Colossus is unfair, you have to admire the sheer scope of what it’s trying to accomplish. On some basic level, all personal injury lawsuits reduce pain, suffering, medical costs, and other losses to a dollar amount. So in theory, there’s nothing really wrong with what Colossus does. Additionally, Colossus provides a great deal of information to insurance adjusters. This includes upper and lower bars for settling these claims. It also produces sample demand letters and a list of previous settlements or jury awards in which similar inputs were placed into the computer.
How Figures Are Produced by Colossus
There are somewhere around 600 injury codes that the software uses to come up with a settlement figure. The codes have a severity value associated with each of them. The more “severe” the software thinks your injury is, the more money it will award you. In fact, the software probably won’t think much of your injury.
In the healthcare industry, there are over 12,000 codes used to categorize injuries. The software maps the codes back to only 600 injury codes. This means that it’s painting your particular situation with a very broad brush.
Additionally, Colossus will not consider what a particular injury means to you personally. While a few people may not worry much about the loss of a finger, there are at least some who won’t be able to enjoy sports or activities that they once very much enjoyed—for the rest of their life.
It doesn’t take into consideration emotional trauma related to the event. It won’t necessarily take into account how your injury will impact your work situation. If you work mostly at a desk, you may not have to worry about your foot injury as much as someone who’s on their feet for eight hours a day.
On the other hand, human jurors will take these things into account and their lawyers will make repeated mention of the emotional factors involved in their client’s particular case. This includes letting jurors know how their particular injury is going to impact the rest of their lives.
In other words, while the software may be sophisticated, it isn’t sophisticated enough to place a dollar sign on your pain and suffering and what your injury means to you personally. It can only generalize about these considerations and it does so only in a way that benefits insurance companies. If it isn’t apparent, the insurance company’s main interest is in paying you as little money as they can for your injuries.
Talk to an Acworth, GA Car Accident Attorney Today
If you’ve been injured in a car accident, don’t let some computer program dictate how much your case is worth. Find an attorney who is willing to fight for you every step of the way. Call the Roger Ghai Law Offices today to set up a free consultation.
Call or text (770) 792-1000 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form