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Email template to respond to a lowball insurance settlement offer

Your insurance company, or the other driver's, has made you an offer to settle a claim and the number is well below what the repair, the replacement, or the medical bills actually cost. The first offer is often a starting point, not a final one. The adjuster (the person the insurer assigns to investigate and value your claim) works from a formula and from whatever documents they happen to have. Replying in writing forces them to explain the number, puts your evidence in the file, and creates a record you can use if you later complain to your state's insurance department or hire a lawyer. A phone call leaves none of that behind.

Before you send

  • The claim number, the date of the offer, and the exact amount offered. Quote them so there is no confusion about which offer you mean.
  • Your own evidence of what the loss is worth: repair estimates from a shop you chose, receipts, invoices, medical bills, or listings for comparable items.
  • The gap in dollars between their offer and your evidence. Say the number plainly rather than just "too low."
  • Your policy's coverage limits and deductible, so you know the most the insurer can owe you and can ask for a number that fits.
  • A calm tone. You are asking for a corrected number, not accusing anyone of bad faith in the first email.
Subject Claim [claim number]: response to settlement offer of [amount offered] 
Hi [adjuster name],

Thank you for the offer of [amount offered] dated [date of offer] on claim [claim number]. I have reviewed it and I am not able to accept it, because it does not cover the loss.

Here is what I have:

- [Repair estimate from shop name for amount]
- [Receipts or invoices for amount]
- [Any other supporting document and its amount]

Together these come to [your total], which is [difference] more than the offer. Could you send me the breakdown you used to arrive at [amount offered], including any comparable prices or repair rates you relied on? If something in my documentation is missing or unclear, tell me what you need and I will send it.

Based on the documents above, I am asking you to revise the settlement to [amount you are asking for]. I'd appreciate a written response by [date about ten days out].

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Policy number]
[Phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A fair adjuster replies with their breakdown and often moves the number, sometimes in more than one step. Compare their comparables and rates against yours line by line.
  • A bad answer is "this is our final offer" with no explanation. Reply once asking for the explanation in writing; insurers in most states are required to give a reason for how they valued a claim.
  • If the number is still short, ask for the adjuster's supervisor, and mention that your next step is a complaint to your state's department of insurance. Both are ordinary, not hostile.
  • For injury claims or losses in the tens of thousands, a consultation with a lawyer is usually free and is worth an hour before you sign anything.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Push back on a low insurance offer for me 
Hi StandIn,

I need you to respond to a settlement offer from an insurance company and get the number raised to something that actually covers my loss.

The claim: [insurer name, claim number, adjuster name and email].
The offer: [amount and the date it was made].
What the loss is really worth: [your total and what documents you have to back it up].
What I want to settle for: [amount, or "the full amount of my estimates"].
My policy details: [policy number, deductible, coverage limit if you know it].

Please ask them how they got their number, send them my evidence, negotiate with the adjuster over as many rounds as it takes, and bring me any offer before I accept it.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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