How To ‘Own the Anchor’ In Settlements

Anchoring occurs in third-party settlement negotiations when one side throws out a number in an effort to influence—or “anchor”—the way the opposing party values a claim. Our experience shows that anchoring directly affects the settlement value of injury claims, so it’s critically important for insurance adjusters to “own the anchor” in negotiations. Anchors come in many varieties, but we find that medical costs are, by far, the greatest and most troublesome. It’s natural to assume that medical costs are an important factor to a settlement and a possible starting point in a negotiation.