Why the first number is rarely the real number
Insurance adjusters routinely open negotiations with a conservative figure, expecting a counteroffer. Accepting that first offer typically closes the claim permanently — there's generally no going back to ask for more later, even if additional injuries or costs surface afterward.
A fault argument can only shave the number down, not erase it
Because Missouri follows pure comparative fault, an adjuster's fault argument works differently here than it would in a state with a 50% or 51% bar. There's no threshold where crossing a fault percentage zeroes out the entire claim — a fault finding, however high, only reduces damages proportionally. Insurers still push hard to inflate a claimant's fault percentage, but doing so can only reduce the recovery, never eliminate it, under Missouri's pure comparative fault rule.
The seat belt argument works differently here too
Worth knowing specifically: RSMo § 307.178 states that a failure to wear a seat belt is not comparative negligence in Missouri. An adjuster can't use it to directly increase your assigned fault percentage for the accident itself — though it may be raised as a separate argument about mitigating certain damages, a genuinely different legal theory from comparative fault.
High fault still costs real money
None of this means fault stops mattering. Under Missouri's proportional reduction rule, a 70% fault finding still cuts the recovery by 70% — it just doesn't take it to zero the way it might elsewhere. Understanding that distinction is useful context for weighing how much an adjuster's fault argument should actually move a settlement number.
The baseline still applies
None of this changes the ordinary approach to a first offer: compare it against a complete, well-documented account of your actual damages before deciding whether to accept or counter, since the decision is generally final once made.