Used by several large insurance companies, Colossus is a computer program developed by the insurance industry and used to calculate the settlement value for car accident injury cases. It was first licensed in the 90’s and became popular after Allstate started using it to standardize their claims handling process.
Before looking at your case, Colossus considers some preliminary matters, a few of which include whether your attorney has a record of taking cases to court or just takes the best offer from the insurance company. It also examines the jurisdiction in which the claim arises. Colossus contains around 600 codes representing all sorts of personal injuries that can occur. Each code has a severity value that comes with a monetary value to calculate how much the claim is worth. While there is nothing wrong with how the system works, it can be unfair to personal injury victims.
Colossus has well over 10,000 rules to determine what questions to ask the adjuster in order to generate a payout. Unfortunately for the victim, insurance companies do not understand the rules or they just don’t care. They have figured out the system and know what calculates insurance payouts so they can pay as little as possible. By using Colossus, insurance companies try to decrease the value of a claim by not taking into consideration certain factors such as stress, pain, inconveniences, and several other factors that a jury would consider. The underlying problem with using a data-driven software like Colossus to spit out a claim value is that it cannot quantify a victim’s pain and suffering. It is simply all artificial.
To make sure you get what you deserve out of Colossus, consider these 8 tips:
- Make sure to report all complaints and problems when being treated by a healthcare provider so it is recorded in the medical records.
- Review the medical record to ensure everything was recorded and recorded correctly.
- Emphasize facts to prove your pain such as medical record and prescriptions for pain medicine.
- Accentuate the important factors such as:
- Injuries and diagnoses
- Permanent impairment
- Whether or not you were disabled for a period of time
- Figure out if Colossus (or another insurance industry software programs) is being used to determine your car accident claim value.
- Ask to see the results that came from Colossus. If your insurer refuses, file a complaint with the state insurance department.
- Do NOT accept any offers less than what you deserve.
- Seek legal help if the insurer is not agreeing on settling at the high end of the range.
When we submit a demand packet to the insurance company for your bodily injury, we draft the letter and include all documents specifically so that it speaks the language of the software program evaluating your claim. By speaking the language of the software, we can generate the highest case value possible pursuant to the insurance company’s software program. If you do not speak the language of Colossus or other insurance company software program, you are diminishing the value of your claim. If you’ve been in a car accident and need advice on how to get what you deserve out of your claim, contact the office of Nathan C. Cooley for a consultation today.
