How adjusters handle claims can have a significant impact on whether a claim ends up in a lawsuit. With that in mind, it is important to know:

• What are the red flags that a claims adjuster or manager should be able to recognize that if handled correctly could change the trajectory of a claim?

• Are there times when it's worth taking a claim to court and other times when it is just better to settle?

Whether a claims professional is handling a first-party or a third-party claim, the preferred resolution from the carrier's perspective will nearly always be by settlement rather than litigation. While there are limited circumstances in which it will be in the carrier's interest to resort to litigation to resolve a claim, the cost of litigation in financial and human resources is rarely justified by the value of the result.

Why claimants file suit

So, what makes a claimant decide to abandon negotiations with a claims professional and file a lawsuit? After all, a lawsuit should be a claimant's last-resort dispute resolution mechanism for all the same reasons the carrier would prefer to stay away from it — expense, delay, lack of control.