Car Accidents
On this page we will look at what to expect when dealing with Selective Insurance on auto accident and other types of personal injury claims. We will also look at how Selective Insurance calculates settlements in personal injury cases, as well as sample verdicts and settlements.
Selective Insurance is a regional insurance company that sells, among other things, both personal and commercial car insurance. At last count, they served 22 states, including Maryland. Car insurance customers, according to a JD Power study, seem mostly happy with their coverage. In accident claims dealing with Selective, at least in Maryland, the results are more mixed.
Last year, this insurer was fined $10,000 by the Maryland Insurance Administration for failing to include a fraud disclosure on Selective’s applications for insurance and its claim forms. But it is hard to make much of this; it is just a lack of technical compliance with a new law.
Selective Insurance tend to write larger than-average insurance policies. Accordingly, there is likely to be more coverage when it insurers the defendant than with the average insurance company in Maryland.
Selective Insurance is owned by Selective Insurance Group which is a publicly traded stock on the NASDAQ (SIGI).
How Does Selective Insurance Value Injury Claims for Settlement Purposes?
Selective evaluates the accident victim’s medical records and bills and decides how much treatment it thinks was necessary for the accident and what the fair value is of (1) the medical treatment, (2) past or future wage loss and (3) the victim’s pain and suffering. Like most insurance companies, Selective typically undervalues all of these categories before a lawsuit is filed.
Who Are the Lawyers Who Defend Lawsuits Against Selective Insurance?
Selective has in-house counsel in Maryland (Joanne Dicus, who is universally considered a good lawyer) that handles many of the tort claims involving Selective or its insureds. For more significant cases where the verdict could potentially exceed the policy limits, Selective typically hires counsel to defend the suit. It certainly spends more money defending individual accident claims when they bring in outside counsel.
Selective has a lot of adjusters. We have seen Matt Karpovich, Donna Herbert, Chuck Chapman, Marie Hardwick, and Christie Noble as the claims adjuster in some of our more recent car and truck accident cases.
Is Selective Insurance a Good Insurance Company to Bring a Claim Against?
Selective Insurance is hard to label with respect to quality of settlement offers in car accident cases. Our experience with its settlement offers is that they run the gambit from ridiculous to reasonable. We do think that the gap between fair and what Selective will offer narrows as the lawsuit process unfolds.
Big Verdict Against Selective Insurance
Selective is not letting many personal injury cases go to trial. Selective never tried a lot of cases, but its last big verdict in 2015 reminded them of the risk of going to trial.
A 63-year-old man was following his son who was driving his son driving westbound on Nursery Road in Lusby near Route 4. Both vehicles stopped a stop sign. The son proceeded through the intersection. The defendant diver was coming northbound on Route 4 in a Ford F-550. He was working a job assigned by Ameri-Star Homes. The defendant driver fell asleep and veered across the highway and hit the man’s car with such force that he was ejected from the vehicle.
He did not die on impact (conscious pain and suffering) but was pronounced dead at Calvert Memorial Hospital. The verdict was later reduced to $2.4 million consistent with Maryland’s cap on damages.
How Selective Approaches and Claim and Makes a Settlement Offer
Insurance companies, including Selective Insurance, follow a structured process to evaluate bodily injury claims and calculate settlement amounts. In this, Selective is pretty average in term of how it determines what level of settlement payout to offer a personal injury victim.
Here is how Selective Insurance approaches a claim:
1. Initial Claim Review
Upon receiving a claim, the insurance company assigns it to a claims adjuster. The adjuster’s first step is to review the claim’s details, including the circumstances of the incident, the nature and extent of the injuries, and any property damage. This getting your ducks in a row phase includes gathering all necessary documentation, such as medical reports, police reports, and witness statements.
2. Liability and Policy Coverage Assessment
The adjuster determines liability—that is, who is at fault for the accident—and whether the policy covers the incident and resulting damages. This assessment will influence the direction and outcome of the claim process. If Selective thinks its insured did nothing wrong, it will fight. It will rarely make a pre-suit settlement offer in a case where liability is in dispute.
3. Medical Expenses Evaluation
The adjuster examines all medical expenses related to the injury. This includes past medical bills and estimated future medical costs. Insurers often use computer software to estimate these costs, which can also help predict long-term expenses in cases of ongoing medical care.
4. Non-Economic Damages Assessment
These damages, including pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life, are more subjective and harder to quantify. Insurers may use formulas, often a multiplier of the economic damages (like medical bills), to estimate these costs. They deny directly using a “times specials” multiplier and that might be technically correct. But Selective really values large medical bills when making settlement offers in bodily injury claims.
5. Lost Wages and Earning Capacity
If the injury caused the claimant to miss work, the adjuster would calculate lost wages. This calculation is relatively straightforward if the claimant is a salaried employee but can be more complex for self-employed individuals. Future lost earnings or diminished earning capacity due to long-term or permanent injuries are also considered, often requiring expert testimony.
6. Contributory Negligence Consideration
In jurisdictions with comparative negligence laws, the settlement amount can be adjusted based on the claimant’s share of fault in the incident. For example, if the claimant is found to be 20% at fault, the settlement amount might be reduced by 20%. Maryland has contributorily negligence would allow Selective to be bolder when there is a liability dispute as our lawyers talk more about in a moment.
7. Settlement Amount Calculation
After evaluating all the above factors, the adjuster calculates a settlement amount. This calculation is initially an internal figure that serves as a starting point for negotiation with the claimant or their attorney.
8. Negotiation
The settlement process often involves negotiation. The first offer from the insurance company is rarely the final amount agreed upon, particularly when you have a seasoned lawyer on your case. Claimants can counter-offer, and negotiations continue until both parties agree on a settlement amount. It almost never hurts to ask for more money. Selective pulled a settlement offer with us in one case but they came back and later increased the offer substantially.
9. Agreement and Payment
Once both parties agree on a settlement amount, the insurance company processes the payment, and the claimant signs a release form, agreeing not to pursue any further claims related to the incident. How long does it take to get a settlement check from Selective? Less than a month, often within the week.
Selective Insurance Verdicts & Settlements
How does Selective Insurance calculate settlement amounts in personal injury claims? It starts with whether it believes its insured made a mistake. Liability assessment is the threshold factor in how Selective Insurance calculates personal injury settlement amounts. If Selective believes its insured is not responsible for the accident, it will vigorously contest the claim, often refusing to offer a settlement. To evaluate liability, the company examines police reports, witness statements, photographs, and any other available evidence to determine fault.
Once liability is established, Selective evaluates economic damages to calculate the baseline for settlement. These damages include medical expenses, lost income, and anticipated future costs stemming from the injury. Victims are required to provide detailed documentation, such as medical bills, pay stubs, and expert testimony, to substantiate their losses. These are things your car accident lawyer will track down for you. If the injuries involve long-term consequences, such as a loss of earning capacity or permanent disability, Selective will factor in these future expenses, though it often disputes high projections. Property damage, when applicable, is also included because Selective believes there is a correlation between property damage and severity of the injury.
Selective then considers non-economic damages, like pain and suffering, which are harder to quantify. The company often uses unhelpful industry-standard methods, such as multipliers or software algorithms, to assign a value based on the injury’s severity and its impact on the claimant’s life.
Severe injuries, such as those causing chronic pain or disfigurement, typically result in higher multipliers. However, Selective tends to scrutinize these claims closely, often pushing back against inflated demands. In pre-suit negotiations, Selective adjusters are often unreasonable. The closer you get to trial, the more realistic Selective gets and starts offering payouts closer to an amount that reflects the risk of going to trial. Claimants with strong evidence and legal representation are better positioned to secure fair compensation despite the insurer’s efforts to limit settlements. The reality if the best personal injury lawyers get the best settlement amounts (or verdict).
Below are examples of jury payouts and settlement amounts against Selective or its insured:
- $540,000 Verdict (Wisconsin 2024): The plaintiff said she was an authorized driver of a vehicle owned by Coram Deo Inc. when the vehicle was involved in an automobile collision. According to the plaintiff, she stopped her vehicle in an intersection when an uninsured motorist ignored a stop sign and struck her vehicle. The plaintiff claimed she suffered injuries to her head, neck, shoulder, left arm, left ear, and chest. The vehicle was insured by defendant Selective Insurance Company of America under a policy that included uninsured/underinsured motorist benefits. The plaintiff argued the defendant failed to comply with the terms of the contract when it refused to compensate her claimed losses.
- $11,500 Settlement (South Carolina 2023): The plaintiff, a minor, was injured in an accident that occurred when another driver (insured by Selective Insurance) attempted to make a left turn out of a parking lot without yielding. The plaintiff suffered various injuries in the accident and Selective agree to settle her claim and then sought court approval of the settlement.
- $22,500 Settlement (Wisconsin 2023): The plaintiff, a toddler, was walking outside at Tiny Town Child Care Center, a daycare center, while holding the hand of another child. C.B. and the other child both allegedly tripped and fell over a large deviation in the sidewalk. The plaintiff suffered personal injuries, which included broken teeth for which he was required to undergo surgery, and a chin abrasion, due to the accident. The plaintiff asserted Tiny Town Child Care Center’s negligence caused his accident, which resulted in his incurring medical expenses of approximately $10,200. The plaintiff reached a settlement agreement with Tiny Town’s insurance provider, Selective Insurance Company of America Inc.
- $20,000 Settlement (South Carolina 2022): The plaintiff, a minor, was driving a vehicle that was rear-ended by the defendant. Defendant The Bug Guy Pest Control was the owner of the vehicle that caused the accident. At the time of the accident, the defendants’ vehicle was insured by Selective Insurance Company. The plaintiff reportedly suffered injuries. The parties and Selective Insurance agreed to settle the minor’s claims and sought court approval of the settlement terms.
- $16,500 Settlement (Virginia 2022): The plaintiff, a 16-year-old girl, was reportedly a passenger in a vehicle stopped at a red light when a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction struck the vehicle on the right side. The vehicle approaching from the opposite direction was insured by Selective Insurance Company. Selective and the driver and owner of the vehicle denied liability, but sought court approval of a compromise settlement between the parties.
Our Lawyers Can Help You With Your Accident Claim Against Selective Insurance
If you have been seriously injured in a car accident call us at 800-553-8082 or get a free online Selective Insurance claim evaluation and consultation.
- Valuing Car Accident Claims (how much is your case worth?)
- Is There a Formula to Calculate Personal Injury Accident Settlement Value? (discussion of whether there is a formula to calculate what should be the amount of a personal injury settlement in a car accident and malpractice case).
- Handling Claims Without Getting Counsel (tips for personal injury victims)
- Help Center (samples of everything and anything a car accident lawyer needs to handle a traffic collision suit)
- Handling Your Property Damage Claim (tips for auto accident property damage claims)
- Sample Demand Letter (letter to insurance company for compensation by settlement)
- Personal Injury Frequently Asked Questions (questions about accident claims against Selective Insurance and other car insurance companies)