Receiving a settlement offer that does not seem to cover your injuries and financial losses can add stress to an already difficult recovery. Before deciding how to respond, take time to understand what the insurer is offering, which losses it considered, and why you believe the amount falls short.
To reject a low insurance settlement offer in Massachusetts, tell the insurer that you do not accept the proposal, explain your reasons, and support your counteroffer with relevant evidence. A written response helps create a clear record, although an ordinary rejection does not require a particular format. You should also consider any offer expiration date and the deadline for filing your lawsuit.
Massachusetts law provides protections against unfair insurance practices, but a low offer alone does not necessarily establish a violation. Understanding the evidence, available coverage, and rules that apply to your claim can help you respond effectively.
Key Takeaways: How to Reject a Low Insurance Settlement Offer in Massachusetts
- You can reject an inadequate offer and negotiate for compensation supported by your injuries and losses.
- A written response should identify the offer, explain why you disagree, and include evidence supporting your counteroffer.
- Rejecting an offer or making a materially different counteroffer ordinarily ends your ability to accept the original proposal unless the insurer renews it.
- Settlement negotiations do not automatically extend your lawsuit filing deadline.
- Massachusetts prohibits certain unfair settlement practices, but disagreement over a claim’s value does not automatically establish wrongdoing.
How Do You Reject an Insurance Settlement Offer?
A clear rejection gives the adjuster specific reasons to reconsider the proposed amount. Rather than simply saying the offer is too low, identify the losses or evidence you believe the insurer overlooked.
Your response should generally include:
- Your name, claim number, and the date and amount of the offer.
- A clear statement that you do not accept the proposal.
- An explanation of the disputed issues, such as missing wage losses, future treatment needs, or an unsupported fault assessment.
- Supporting records or a reference to documents you already submitted.
- A counteroffer supported by the evidence, if you are ready to propose an amount.
Keep the tone professional and direct. For example, if the adjuster calculated only two weeks of lost wages but your doctor kept you out of work for six weeks, explain that difference and provide the medical restrictions and employer records.
You can reject an ordinary settlement offer verbally, but following up in writing helps prevent misunderstandings. Keep copies of your correspondence, attachments, and delivery records. Email or certified mail can help document when you sent your response.
How Can You Tell Whether an Offer Is Too Low?
Start by comparing the offer with the losses your claim may legally cover. These can include medical expenses, rehabilitation, lost wages, reduced earning ability, and pain and suffering.
Review both your current losses and the effects your injuries may have in the future. An offer that addresses emergency treatment but overlooks a recommended surgery or lasting work restrictions may leave substantial needs unaddressed.
However, medical bills and lost income do not tell the whole story. Disputed fault, questions about whether treatment relates to the accident, and available insurance coverage can affect the settlement amount. Ask the adjuster to explain how the company calculated its offer and which parts of your demand it disputes.
For a Massachusetts personal injury claim, a useful review includes:
- Whether the insurer considered all documented injuries and related treatment.
- Whether your medical providers expect additional care or lasting limitations.
- Whether the wage calculation reflects the full time you missed work.
- Whether the insurer disputes responsibility for the accident.
- Whether the offer reflects an insurance coverage limit.
Massachusetts law allows an injured claimant or their attorney to request the insured’s liability coverage limits in writing. Under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 175, § 112C, the insurer must respond within 30 days after receiving that request. Knowing the available limits helps you understand whether the dispute concerns your claim’s value, the amount of coverage, or both.
Building a Counteroffer With Supporting Evidence
A counteroffer is more persuasive when it connects the requested amount to specific losses. Organize your records so the adjuster can understand what happened, how you were injured, and how the injuries have affected your life.
Useful evidence may include:
- Medical records, bills, and treatment recommendations.
- Your doctor’s assessment of future care needs and work restrictions.
- Pay stubs, employer statements, or tax records supporting lost income.
- Receipts for related out-of-pocket expenses.
- Photographs, witness statements, and incident reports.
- Documentation of lasting limitations and changes to daily activities.
Your treating physicians’ medical reports can help explain why treatment was necessary and whether you are likely to need additional care. Employment records can show the financial effects of missed work or reduced hours.
Separate your economic damages, such as medical expenses and lost income, from losses such as pain and suffering. This makes it easier to explain which parts of the insurer’s evaluation you believe are incomplete.
If your condition is still changing, you may not yet have enough information to make a well-supported final demand. Medical guidance about your recovery can help, but waiting for your condition to stabilize does not extend your filing deadline.
How Do Pain and Suffering Affect a Massachusetts Settlement?
An injury can affect much more than your finances. Persistent pain, disrupted sleep, difficulty caring for your children, and the loss of activities you enjoyed may all matter when evaluating a qualifying injury claim.
Massachusetts does not use a universal multiplier formula to calculate pain and suffering. Explain the actual effects of your injuries rather than relying only on a multiple of your medical bills. A recovery journal can help you record symptoms and limitations accurately.
Certain motor vehicle injury claims have an additional requirement. Under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 231, § 6D, pain-and-suffering damages generally require more than $2,000 in qualifying reasonable and necessary treatment expenses or a statutory injury exception. Those exceptions include a fracture, loss of a body member, permanent and serious disfigurement, certain losses of sight or hearing, or death.
Meeting the threshold does not establish a particular settlement value. You still need evidence showing the nature and effects of your injuries.
Can Disputed Fault Reduce Your Settlement Offer?
An insurer may offer less because it believes you share responsibility for the accident. If you disagree, ask what evidence supports that position and address it directly.
Massachusetts follows a modified comparative negligence system under chapter 231, § 85. You can recover damages when your negligence does not exceed the combined negligence of the parties against whom you seek recovery. Your damages are reduced by your share of fault.
For example, if you are found 20% responsible and your damages total $100,000, your recovery would be reduced to $80,000. If your negligence exceeds the combined negligence of those other parties, recovery is barred under this rule.
Witness statements, photographs, video, and other accident evidence may help challenge an unsupported fault assessment. An applicable safety ordinance violation can also serve as evidence of negligence, but it does not automatically establish liability. You still need to connect the other party’s conduct to your injuries.
Can Rejecting an Offer Hurt Your Claim?
Rejecting an offer does not, by itself, eliminate an otherwise valid personal injury claim. It also does not guarantee that the insurer will offer more.
The main practical risk is that the original proposal may no longer be available. Under Massachusetts contract principles, rejecting an offer or making a counteroffer with materially different terms ordinarily terminates the original offer. If negotiations stall, you cannot assume you can return to the earlier amount unless the insurer renews it.
Asking the adjuster to explain the offer or clarify its terms does not necessarily amount to a rejection. Be clear about whether you are requesting information or proposing a different settlement.
Before accepting any offer, review the settlement terms and proposed release carefully. A final settlement may prevent you from seeking more compensation if your injuries worsen. Do not assume you can change your mind simply because you have not signed a release. Depending on the circumstances, agreeing to settlement terms verbally or by email can create a binding agreement.
Negotiating Without Missing the Filing Deadline
Settlement discussions do not automatically pause the deadline for filing your injury lawsuit. You can continue negotiating and still lose the opportunity to sue if the applicable deadline passes.
Massachusetts General Laws chapter 260, § 2A generally provides three years from when a covered personal injury claim accrues. In many accident cases, that period begins on the injury date. However, the discovery rule, tolling rules, and claim-specific requirements can affect the deadline. If your claim involves a public employer, such as a city or town, you may also need to submit a formal written claim before filing suit.
An insurer’s offer expiration date is different from the lawsuit filing deadline. Track both, and do not assume that sending a counteroffer preserves your right to sue.
If negotiations remain unresolved as the deadline approaches, filing a lawsuit may be necessary to preserve your claim. Filing does not mean the case must proceed to trial. Settlement discussions can continue during litigation.
When Can a Low Offer Involve Unfair Insurance Practices?
Massachusetts law requires insurers to follow specific claim-handling standards. Under chapter 176D, § 3(9), prohibited conduct includes failing to respond reasonably promptly to claim communications, refusing payment without a reasonable investigation, and failing to pursue prompt, fair, and equitable settlements when liability becomes reasonably clear.
An insurer’s refusal to make a reasonable offer despite sufficiently clear evidence of liability and damages may support an unfair settlement practices claim. However, a low opening offer or a good-faith disagreement about value does not automatically establish a violation.
Keep records of the insurer’s explanations, requests for information, offers, and responses. These records can help show how the company handled the claim.
Certain violations can support a separate claim under chapter 93A. A demand under chapter 93A, § 9 generally must identify the claimant, describe the unfair conduct, and explain the resulting harm. It ordinarily must be mailed or delivered at least 30 days before filing that lawsuit, unless an exception applies. A routine rejection or counteroffer may not satisfy these requirements.
A successful chapter 93A claim may provide additional remedies, including attorney’s fees and, when the required standards are met, double or treble damages. These remedies are not automatic simply because an insurer offered less than you requested.
Frequently Asked Questions About Rejecting a Low Insurance Settlement Offer in Massachusetts
Can the Insurance Company Withdraw Its Offer?
An insurer can generally withdraw an ordinary settlement offer before acceptance, unless an enforceable restriction applies. Your rejection or materially different counteroffer may also terminate the proposal. Ask for written confirmation if the insurer agrees to keep an earlier offer available.
How Long Do You Have to Respond?
There is no universal Massachusetts response deadline for an ordinary personal injury settlement offer. Check the proposal for an expiration date and monitor your separate lawsuit deadline. Formal statutory settlement procedures and court offers can involve different rules and consequences.
Is Rejecting a Chapter 93A Settlement Tender Different?
A reasonable written settlement tender made within the statutory chapter 93A response period can affect a later unfair-practices lawsuit. If you reject it and a court finds it reasonable, it can limit your recovery and the attorney’s fees and costs you can recover. Evaluate that tender separately from an ordinary negotiation offer.
What if the Insurer Will Not Increase the Offer?
Review why negotiations have stalled. Missing medical evidence, disputed fault, or coverage limits may require different responses. Depending on the circumstances, options include submitting additional documentation, requesting further review, mediation, or filing a lawsuit before the applicable deadline. Further negotiations do not guarantee a higher payment.
Need Legal Help? Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, Is Here for You
Responding to a low settlement offer can be difficult when you are also dealing with medical treatment, missed work, and uncertainty about your recovery. At Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, we can review the offer, identify the evidence supporting your claim, and help you understand your options for pursuing compensation.
Our team is available 24/7. We offer a free consultation to discuss your injuries, the insurer’s response, and the next steps available in your case. Contact us today.