How to Deal With An Insurance Adjuster After a Car Accident

By The Cagle Law Firm | March 11, 2026 | Car Accidents, Featured

Our Best Advice—Do NOT “deal” to the adjuster right away. Always consult a car accident lawyer before you talk to any auto insurance carrier.  You may not need a lawyer, but we are always happy to provide information.  Having the information about how the process is supposed to work provides a lot of clarity and confidence Before calling an adjuster.

We often talk to car crash victims after this initial call has gone badly or when they have a “bad feeling” after talking with an adjuster regarding a car accident.  If you’ve experienced that “bad feeling”, there is a reason for it. It’s a survival skill.  If you are hurt in a motor vehicle accident, you absolutely should NOT talk the insurance company before you talk to an attorney. If you are taking medication as one does after an injury, you should absolutely NOT have discussions with an insurance adjuster other than the bare minimum. When we say the “bare minimum”, we mean the minimum information that you need to share to be compliant with the rules of your insurance policy.  Possibly you want to get the vehicle repair process started ASAP.  Again, the bare minimum information allows that process to start before you overshare information about your physical condition/injury.

What is the Bare Minimum?

Most people do not know what they are required to tell an insurance adjuster or they assume the insurance adjuster is there to help them. Call a lawyer first for a free case evaluation and free advice to best preserve your claim.  When we say, “the bare minimum”, below is the basic information you can share with an adjuster:

1. The time, place and date or your crash. You may share how many vehicles were involved.
2. If you were hurt, you can say, “Yes, I sustained an injury”.  You should NOT identify the body parts that were injured or medical treatment you have had or may be planning to have. Simply……. it’s not their business yet. You do not have to share your date of birth and definitely not your social security number.  Likewise, you should not disclose the type or name of your health insurance.   If you are hurt—call a lawyer immediately.
3. You can give the name of police agency that worked the crash as well as the report number if you have it.

If you are attempting to complete your property damage through the insurance companies’ online form, they will require answers you should not give including the nature of your injures, your auto insurance carrier information and the name of your health insurance.    Resist the temptation to click through in order to expediate your claim.  The online form will not make an adjuster process your claim quicker and over sharing information is a costly mistake.

Things You Should Not Say:

1. How the crash happened.  Too many people give statements because they have been through an ordeal.  Insurance adjusters know what we know–when you’ve been through a trauma incident, you want to share your story.  However, you really only want to share that story with someone looking out for your best interest. As car accident lawyers, we are on your side and looking out for your best interest. You cannot assume that any insurance company (even your own) is looking out for you.
2. You Are NOT REQUIRED to give a statement about the crash regardless of what they tell you.  However, you should know that everything you say IS RECORDED.  Thus, keep it simple as to location, date and time. While everything is recorded, you will have a difficult time getting a copy of that recording from the adjuster.
3. You are not required to give them the name of your health insurance information even though they may tell you that you are legally required to do so.  Revelation of any medical treatment and health insurance information should wait.  Your health records are protected and you should not disclose any of that information to the auto insurance adjuster before you talk to an attorney.  You do not have to disclose whether or not you have health insurance and should not disclose.
4. Do not immediately send photos, give statements or attempt to explain fault by any party.   Even if you are talking to your own insurance company, do not give more information UNTIL you talk to an attorney.  Often, people will say since they did nothing wrong, they didn’t think they needed an attorney.  Or, since they were talking to their own insurance carrier, they thought they needed to give all the details.  It is a mistake to overshare. If you are hurt and overshare, it can be a costly mistake.

Why Do I Need an Attorney if the Crash Was Not My Fault?

Good question.  You may say, “Hey, wait a second, I wasn’t arrested, charged, or given a citation; why do I need to “deal” with an attorney?”  Attorneys are helpful in criminal situations but they are equally necessary if you have been injured in a collision.  We are not trying to create fear and hysteria–quite the opposite.  We have worked with 100’s of people injured in motor vehicle collisions. Worse, we have talked to 100’s more who overshared with an insurance adjuster to only have the adjuster use their words at a vulnerable time against them.

1. An attorney protects your rights.  After a crash where you are injured, you are ready to move on with the life the next day. You want to wrap it up and move on with life–totally understandable.  However, if you are hurt, you are not getting on with your normal life right away regardless of how positively you think.  You have two types of claims and they should be handled separately:
   1. Property Damage–You’re car is as damaged the day of your crash as it is a week after.  Your property damage claim can begin right away. It is separate from your injury.
   2. Bodily injury– Your injury is a process.  It will take days, weeks or years in some scenarios.  It is not a process you can predict the day after a crash.
2. A lawyer helps you through the physical recovery process. Half of our work with our clients involves their medical treatment, especially when they suffer serious injuries.  You may go the ER and they complete x-rays and CT’s, discharge you and tell you nothing is broken.  What happens two weeks later when you are still having a great deal of pain?  Every person is different depending on their body, their injury, their access to a primary care doctor and where they are seeking medical help.  We spend time talking with clients about the process of seeking medical treatment as it can be confusing. Unfortunately, the emergency room is not set up to talk you through a process past that one visit. Often, folks run into road blocks trying to navigate the medical system.  Honestly, no one learns about becoming a consumer of medical treatment for fun.
3. A lawyer gathers evidence, requests the official crash report, and builds your case.  If needed, a lawyer may involve a reconstruction expert or other expertise.  Thus, hiring an attorney right after your crash ensures a lawyer can do gather the evidence, protect your rights and build your case.
4. Being physically injured is a process and so is your injury claim process.  We explain the process.

What is the Best Process for Filing My Property Damage Only Claim?

Honestly, if you only sustained property damage, then you may not need a personal injury attorney.  We represent those who are injured and honestly, we would rather you not be hurt. Since we do spend quite a bit of time talking folks through dealing with an insurance adjuster for just their property damage, below is the framework of the advice we give before negotiating with an insurance adjuster on your property damage only:

Be Prepared.  Gather all of the crash details including the photos and report.  Hopefully you gathered witness names and phone numbers.  Think about what you are going to say. You will want to be sure that the incident report is consistent with your statements to the officer and how the crash occurred.  You should know that an insurance adjuster will base calculating “fault” or liability based upon the crash report.

Look Up the Worth of Your Vehicle.  You don’t have to go into the negotiation blind. Look up the Kelley Blue Book value of your vehicle. Of course, this depends on whether your vehicle was totaled. Remember, you can demand that your vehicle be repaired at a certified body shop.  Thus, if you have a 2023 Honda Accord, you can insist that it be repaired at a certified Honda dealership body shop. Typically, people do not make money on their property damage claims–just so you are prepared. There is not usually an inconvenience fee included in your property damage claim.

Keep Your Statement Simple.  The insurance adjuster will ask you how it happened. They will not necessarily ask your permission to record.  Plan on the adjuster recording the entire conversation.  You may think that your crash is straight forward, however, that is really unusual when it comes to dealing with the insurance company.  Literally, we have had conversations with adjusters where a person was not even in a vehicle and their car was parked when rear-ended– it and it still took the insurance adjuster several days to accept liability/fault. Also, if you are an injured driver and the car is reregistered to your spouse, etc; it is often beneficial if the other owner handles the property damage.  We are happy to explain that if you have questions.

Know Your Rights. Again, you do not have to disclose personal information such as your birthdate and social security number or your health insurance. If you are talking to the other driver’s insurance, you do not really have to disclose your auto insurance (the adjuster can get that from the incident report) As well, you do not have to answer any questions about your physical condition or injuries.  BE SURE THAT YOU ARE NOT HURT BEFORE SAYING YOU ARE ‘NOT HURT’ (this becomes a problem if you call the adjuster within a few hours while on an adrenaline high and then feel wretched the next day).

Pause and Take a Breath– Waiting 24-48 hours to report your crash to the insurance carrier is smart.  Asses how you are doing physically and gather your information and thoughts.  Just because you call the insurance adjuster in the first few hours after your crash, it does not mean that they will move any faster than if you wait 24 hours.

Cover Your Bases, Talk to an Attorney

Personal injury attorneys offer free consultations, daily.  Often we talk to people who are not hurt, but they leave the conversation with a plan for making their property damage claim.  We would gladly spend 15 minutes helping you develop a plan to talk to the insurance adjuster so you don’t feel vulnerable going into that conversation.

If you are hurt, you are going to need a lawyer.   So often, people tell us that they are not “litigious” and that they “don’t like lawsuits”.  Yeah, most people don’t do lawsuits for fun.  Hiring an attorney does not automatically mean that you are filing a lawsuit.  Our attorneys don’t go from 10 mph to 100 mph overnight.  Your medical progress, facts of the crash, and insurance coverage create the case.  Our attorneys develop a long-term plan for each client in the first few days, week and months after a crash.   Our goal is to do what is in the best interest of the client whether that is through negotiated settlements or litigation. Ultimately, the case is yours. Our attorneys to work as hard as we can for the best outcome for you.

If  you are hurt, you need an expert involved from the beginning so you can focus on your physical recovery.

Call us toll free 1.800.685.3302 or locally 314.276.1681

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The Cagle Law Firm

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