The Insurance Adjuster's "Nuisance" Value of Your Claim

On the spectrum of potential personal injury settlement value, there are multi-million dollar claims on one side, and "nuisance value" settlements on the other. In this article, we'll discuss what a nuisance value claim means, and show you how you may still have room to negotiate even if the adjuster gives your claim the dreaded "nuisance" label.

What Is "Nuisance Value" in a Personal Injury Settlement?

Insurance adjusters think some injury claims are all but worthless. But what makes a claim a "nuisance" claim? The reasons behind this kind of determination vary, but some common justifications—from the adjuster's standpoint anyway—are:

• the person making the claim was completely at fault
• someone other than the insured person was completely at fault (meaning the adjuster's insurance company shouldn't be on the financial hook)
• the claimant’s injuries were not caused by the accident, or
• the claimant had no real injuries at all.

In each of these situations, an insurance adjuster may at first completely deny the injured person’s claim, saying that the insurance company won't pay any compensation.

In many cases, though, an insurance adjuster’s initial refusal to make any settlement will eventually turn into an offer to settle the case for a small amount known as “nuisance value.” The term comes from the insurance company’s idea that it's better to pay a little bit of money than to have to deal with the nuisance of a claim that won't go away. Insurance adjusters won’t usually use the term nuisance value, but when they make a very low offer bearing no relation to the damages formula, that’s what they’re doing.

What's the Average "Nuisance Value" Personal Injury Settlement?

As with all other categories in accident settlements, there is no fixed amount for a nuisance value settlement. In claims with medical bills under a thousand dollars, a nuisance value settlement is often equal to the amount of the medical bills—or even half of the medical bills—with nothing for income loss, pain and suffering, general damages, or anything else.

Where the person filing the claim isn't able to show any real injuries (small medical bills, soft tissue injury that no doctor has been able to diagnose, etc.), an insurance adjuster will often make a nuisance value offer of $500 or $750. On the other hand, if there are medical bills and lost income in the thousands of dollars, and a serious, painful, or permanent injury—all of which would cause the damages formula to come out with a figure of as much as $10,000 to $15,000—a nuisance value settlement could be $2,000 to $3,000.

Even "Nuisance Value" Is Negotiable

Even when all you will get out of a claim is its nuisance value, remember that any offer of settlement is negotiable. So, if it looks like you'll be forced to settle for some version of a nuisance value amount, you don’t have to take the first offer.

Nuisance value figures probably won’t change too much through bargaining, but if you can get an adjuster to move from $500 to $1,000, for example, it certainly will have been worth that extra phone call or two of negotiation. Or, you might find that by simply refusing to accept that $500 settlement, and waiting a few weeks, the adjuster comes back with a higher offer.

Should I Accept a "Nuisance Value" Injury Settlement?

If you have a personal injury attorney, and they're advising you to accept a nuisance value settlement, it's probably a good idea to take that advice. Since your lawyer is almost certainly working under a contingency fee agreement—meaning they get paid for their legal services —you and your lawyer both have a big financial stake in the outcome of your injury case. If your lawyer says it's time to give up the fight, it might be time to listen.

Parts of this article were excerpted from How to Win Your Personal Injury Claim by Attorney Joseph Matthews (Nolo).