Why Including ICD-10 Codes in Your Demand Letters Matters

What Are ICD-10 Codes, and Why Should You Care?

ICD-10 codes are the standardized diagnostic codes that medical providers, insurers, and regulators use to classify injuries and conditions. They are the shorthand insurers rely on to quickly understand the scope and nature of a claimant's injuries.

Historically, however, extracting these codes from dense medical records was so time-consuming that most firms simply left them out. Manually combing through hundreds or even thousands of pages to find and match the correct codes was nearly impossible to do at scale—especially when you're handling high volumes of cases.

This is where Precedent AI comes in. Our platform automatically scans raw medical records, identifies all relevant ICD-10 codes, and organizes them into a clean, structured table you can drop straight into your demand letters. What used to take hours—or never happened at all—now happens in seconds.

"Speaking the insurer's language with ICD-10 codes eliminates guesswork, speeds up reviews, and strengthens your negotiating power."

How ICD-10 Codes Make Your Demands Stronger

Including ICD-10 codes in your demand letter does more than just look professional. Here are three ways they can directly improve your results:

1. Clear Communication with Adjusters: Insurance adjusters are trained to evaluate claims through the lens of ICD-10 coding. When your demand presents diagnoses in the format they expect, it eliminates guesswork and ambiguity. The adjuster doesn't have to cross-reference your narrative with medical records to confirm injury details—everything is laid out in a familiar language.

2. Faster Reviews and Fewer Questions: When demands are vague or incomplete, adjusters are forced to follow up—asking for clarifications, additional documentation, or re-statements of medical facts. This back-and-forth adds avoidable friction and delays settlement offers. By proactively including ICD-10 codes, you streamline the review process and remove a major source of friction.

3. A Stronger Negotiating Position: The more credible and organized your demand, the more leverage you have. ICD-10 codes not only demonstrate that you've done your homework, but they also reinforce the medical legitimacy of your claims. This can help drive stronger initial offers and show that your firm's documentation is thorough and ready for scrutiny.

What If You Prefer Not to Include Them?

While ICD-10 codes are a best practice, Precedent AI gives you full control over how they're used. If you prefer not to include them, you can easily review, edit, or remove them before finalizing the draft. Just keep in mind that omitting ICD-10 codes can:

• Slow down the adjuster's evaluation.
• Increase the likelihood of follow-up questions.
• Potentially reduce the clarity and impact of your demand package.

"Automation turns hours of manual coding work into seconds—giving your team more time to focus on clients, not paperwork."

A Smarter Way to Draft Demands

ICD-10 codes are just one example of how Precedent helps you create demands that align with how insurers evaluate claims. By combining automation with custom calibration, you can produce polished, precise demands faster—without sacrificing control or quality.

If you're ready to see how AI-driven drafting can elevate your negotiations and save your team hours of manual work, let's connect. We'll show you exactly how Precedent makes it easy to deliver demands that get results.