Avoiding "Lowball" Offers: Why Financial Security Leads to Higher Settlements
4 min read read
Published Apr 2, 2025
The "Desperation Discount"
Insurance adjusters are trained negotiators. They know that the average person has less than $1,000 in savings. They calculate that if they wait long enough, you will become desperate enough to accept a fraction of what your case is worth just to pay your immediate bills.
We call this the "Desperation Discount." If your case is worth $100,000 but you are broke and about to lose your car, you might accept $25,000 just to survive. That is a $75,000 loss for you and a $75,000 win for the insurance company.
Leverage is Everything
Negotiation is about leverage. If you need the money now, you have zero leverage. If you can afford to wait, you hold all the cards.
When your attorney calls the insurance adjuster and says, "My client is financially stable and prepared to go to trial," the dynamic changes. The adjuster realizes that the "starvation tactic" won't work, and they are forced to put a real number on the table.
Investing in Your Own Case
Think of pre-settlement funding as an investment in your case's value. By paying a small cost for funding now, you buy your attorney the time to reject the lowball offers and fight for the maximum policy limits.
In many cases, the difference between the first offer and the final settlement is massive—often 3x or 5x higher. Funding gives you the bridge to get to that higher number.
