Is an Insurer’s Algorithm Lowballing Your Injury Claim?
Many insurers run your bodily injury claim through claims-valuation software before a person ever weighs in. The number it spits out is a negotiating tool, not Michigan law, and it does not decide what your case is worth. Under एमसीएल 500.3135, that question belongs to the facts of your injury and, if needed, a jury.
How insurers put a number on your claim
Large auto insurers feed the details of a bodily injury claim into software that assigns a suggested value range. The best known is Colossus, and several carriers use similar tools. The program reads coded inputs, your diagnosis codes, the types of treatment, how long you treated, and any gaps, then produces a range the adjuster uses to anchor the first offer. The output looks precise, but it is only as good as the codes entered, and those inputs can understate a real injury.
None of that is a legal ceiling. The software estimates what the insurer hopes to pay. It does not measure what Michigan law lets you recover.
Why the software number is not what your claim is worth
In Michigan, pain and suffering from an auto crash is recoverable when your injury meets the tort threshold in MCL 500.3135, most often the serious impairment of body function standard the Michigan Supreme Court applied in मैककॉर्मिक बनाम कैरियर, 487 Mich 180 (2010). Auto non-economic damages are not subject to a statutory dollar cap, so no algorithm can lawfully limit a jury’s award. Your economic benefits, medical care and wage loss, run on a separate track as no-fault PIP under एमसीएल 500.3105, and they are owed regardless of fault, whatever a valuation program suggests.
Fault still matters, but through law, not software. Under एमसीएल 600.2959, your recovery is reduced by your share of fault and pain-and-suffering is barred only if you are more than 50 percent at fault. A program’s guess about your credibility or activity level does not change that legal test.
| What the software leans on | What Michigan law actually looks at |
|---|---|
| Diagnosis and treatment codes, treatment length, gaps | Whether the injury meets the MCL 500.3135 serious impairment threshold under McCormick. |
| A suggested settlement range | No dollar cap on auto non-economic damages; the fact-finder decides the amount. |
| An estimate of what the insurer wants to pay | PIP medical and wage loss owed under MCL 500.3105 regardless of fault. |
| An internal credibility or activity score | Comparative fault under MCL 600.2959, decided on evidence, not an algorithm. |
What protects your number
Consistent, well-documented treatment is what the software cannot argue away. When the insurer unreasonably refuses or delays overdue PIP benefits, the law adds teeth: MCL 500.3142 imposes 12 percent penalty interest on overdue benefits, and एमसीएल 500.3148 can shift your attorney fees to the insurer. Deadlines still control everything, so a low first offer is not a reason to wait. A motor-vehicle injury lawsuit generally must be filed within three years under एमसीएल ६००.५८०५, and no-fault benefits carry one-year notice and one-year-back limits under एमसीएल 500.3145.
- The number is an opening bid. Software valuation anchors the offer; it does not set the value of your claim.
- No cap on auto pain and suffering. Michigan does not limit non-economic auto damages by statute, so no program can.
- PIP is separate. Medical and wage-loss benefits are owed regardless of fault under MCL 500.3105.
- Documentation wins. Consistent treatment and a clear record answer the software’s coded inputs.
अक्सर पूछे जाने वाले प्रश्न
Can an insurance company’s software cap what I recover?
No. The software only suggests what the insurer wants to pay. Michigan does not cap auto non-economic damages, and the amount is decided under the law and, if needed, by a jury, not by a program.
The first offer seems low. Does that mean my claim is weak?
Not necessarily. A low opening figure often reflects the coded inputs the software used, not the strength of your case. Consistent treatment and documented impairment are what the numbers cannot argue away.
Do I have to accept the number the adjuster quotes?
No. A settlement figure is an offer you can decline. If the insurer unreasonably delays owed PIP benefits, penalty interest and attorney-fee shifting can apply under MCL 500.3142 and MCL 500.3148.
Handed a lowball number after a Michigan crash?
Free consultation with Manny Chahal, no fee unless we recover, call 1-844-624-2425.
1-844-624-2425 पर कॉल करें