Insurance companies use predictable tactics to settle Illinois personal injury claims for less than they are worth, and the six below are the ones we see most often. The adjuster who calls after your crash is trained to close your file cheaply, and everything from the friendly tone to the quick first offer serves that goal. Knowing these tactics before you pick up the phone is the single best way to protect the value of your claim.
Insurance adjusters are employees of the insurance company. They are skilled negotiators, guided by experienced insurance defense lawyers, and they handle claims like yours every day. Their job performance is measured in part by how little the company pays out. However pleasant the conversation feels, the adjuster is not your advocate. They may suggest you are not entitled to compensation, or that your case is worth far less than it is, to see whether you will accept it. You are not required to negotiate with them alone, and you should not.
Insurers know from their own claims data that represented claimants generally recover more than unrepresented ones, which is exactly why the adjuster may tell you a lawyer is unnecessary. A billion-dollar company with defense counsel on retainer is telling an injured person with no legal training that she does not need protection. They also know most families cannot afford to wait, so they make a fast lowball offer and hope the pressure of medical bills does the rest. An experienced attorney knows what your case is actually worth and what a fair settlement looks like. In one of our cases, a DuPage County rear-end crash that required four spine surgeries, the insurer’s conduct led to a bad-faith suit and a total recovery of more than $1.6 million, a 2024 Top 50 Verdict in Illinois. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
A recorded statement is one of the adjuster’s most effective tools for shrinking your claim. They may call while you are still shaken, ask you to guess at facts, and lock you into answers that hurt you later. In Illinois, you are generally not required to give the at-fault driver’s insurer a recorded statement at all. We cover this in detail in Do I Have to Give a Recorded Statement to the Insurance Company? The short version: stay off the phone, and do not let them record you.
Tell your doctor about everything that hurts on the first visit, even what seems minor. Serious injuries are often not fully apparent for days or weeks, and if your case is ever tried, your early medical records become key evidence. A jury may doubt a neck injury that appears nowhere in the notes from your first post-accident appointment. Never exaggerate an injury, and never downplay one either. Let your doctor decide what matters.
The insurance company may ask you to authorize release of your medical records. A broad authorization lets them dig through your entire medical history for anything to blame your injuries on: an old sports injury, a prior condition, an earlier accident. Whether past records are even relevant is a legal question, and sometimes one a judge must decide. A lawyer can limit the release to records that are actually relevant to your claim and nothing more.
A quick settlement offer lands when the pressure is highest, before you know how badly you are hurt and while the bills are piling up. If your injury turns out worse than expected, the money is long gone and the release you signed bars any further claim. As a rule, do not settle before your treatment is complete or your doctors can reliably project your future care. Illinois law also sets deadlines: most personal injury suits must be filed within two years (735 ILCS 5/13-202), and claims against local government defendants such as the CTA, Metra, Pace, or a municipality generally must be brought within one year (745 ILCS 10/8-101). Because there is risk in settling too soon and risk in waiting too long, the practical answer is to get advice early. And remember that Illinois places no caps on compensatory damages in personal injury or wrongful death cases; in Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, 237 Ill. 2d 217 (2010), the Illinois Supreme Court struck down statutory caps on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases, holding the cap “violates the separation of powers clause” and “effects an unconstitutional legislative remittitur.” A rushed settlement gives all of that up. For how a full valuation works, see What Is My Personal Injury Case Worth?, and for the filing deadlines in depth, see How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Illinois?
The consultation is free, we handle injury cases on a contingency fee, and you pay nothing unless we win. Call Collins Law Group in Naperville or contact us online before you give the insurance company anything.
Not to the at-fault driver’s insurer. Your own policy may require your cooperation, which can include a statement, but the other side’s adjuster has no such claim on you. If you are asked for one, that is a good moment to talk to a lawyer first.
Rarely, and almost never before you know the full extent of your injuries. A first offer often arrives while bills are piling up and before your treatment is finished, and signing the release that comes with it closes the claim for good. Once you sign, you cannot go back for the surgery you needed six months later.
Most personal injury suits must be filed within two years of the injury (735 ILCS 5/13-202). If the defendant is a local government entity such as the CTA, Metra, Pace, or a municipality, the deadline drops to one year (745 ILCS 10/8-101). The shorter deadline is easy to miss, which is one reason to get advice early rather than late.
You can still recover in Illinois as long as your share of the fault is not more than 50%. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, so a $100,000 case with 20% fault on you becomes $80,000. Above 50%, recovery is barred entirely (735 ILCS 5/2-1116). Adjusters know this, which is why they push the idea that you share the blame.
John D. Risvold is an equity partner at Collins Law Group, P.C. in Naperville, Illinois. He represents individuals and families in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases, focusing on commercial trucking crashes, rideshare and autonomous vehicle litigation, medical malpractice and birth injury, and product defect claims. He has tried cases to verdict in Illinois courts, recovered more than $50 million for clients over thirteen years of practice, and has been named to Best Lawyers in America for Personal Injury Litigation and Illinois Super Lawyers.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; consult a licensed Illinois attorney about your specific situation.
