Care should be taken to come to a car accident insurance settlement that takes all reasonable future injury-related problems into consideration. Your physician should be consulted for information on your prognosis for recovery and any potential problems that could occur down the road. Then, armed with all pertinent information, and after negotiating with the claims adjuster either on your own or with the assistance of an attorney, you may be able to reach a settlement that is satisfactory to you. If you do, congratulations! Now how do you get the money? Not so fast!

Once you have settled your claim, the insurance company will want to make sure that you cannot come back to their insured later and sue for more money. They will, therefore, ask you to sign a form called a Release and Waiver. You want to be certain that the conditions on the waiver are reasonable, and that the money will be paid to you promptly. As with any legal document, it is important to have an car accident lawyer review it and advise you before you put your signature on it. After you sign it, it will be too late to question any of the conditions or terminology used.

Caution: As the releasing party, by settling your claim and signing the Release and Waiver, you are required to give up all known and unknown claims against the driver that caused the accident. This means, for example, that if your back pain from the accident suddenly makes a return appearance a year from now, you cannot go back and sue the other driver from the accident for additional compensation. Make sure you understand what you are signing and what will happen after you sign. An attorney will make certain that you are fully aware of your rights and what rights you are giving up by signing this document. That is why it is so important to seek legal counsel to assist you with this process.

Once you sign and return the Release and Waiver, the insurance company will send you either a bank draft or a certified check. At that point, the money is yours!