After an accident, insurance is likely going to be involved. They use adjusters to take in information about the accident and make decisions about coverage and payment amounts. If the insurance company has an adjuster call you, take these steps.
First, you should tell the insurance adjuster to talk to your lawyer. If you have representation, they shouldn’t be trying to talk to you directly anymore. Second, do not make recorded statements. Lastly, if you do have to provide information or evidence, check all of it with your lawyer first or have them handle these discussions for you.
For a free case evaluation, call our NJ car accident lawyers at Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. today at (551) 525-6465.
Why Would Insurance Adjusters Call You?
If you were in an accident and filed an insurance claim, the insurance adjusters will call you to follow up and handle your claim. This makes sense, and this kind of follow-up is likely something you would expect to see. However, if an insurance adjuster calls you out of the blue, it is usually for one of these reasons:
Someone Filed a Claim Involving You
If the other driver filed a claim with their insurance already and listed you as the other driver, then their insurance company might call you to get information and evidence. Because that would be a no-fault claim, the insurance company is not necessarily filing a claim against you in any way; they are just investigating a claim their driver filed.
That doesn’t mean it’s safe or a good idea to share info with them.
Someone Filed a Claim Against You
Alternatively, the claim might be filed against you and your insurance. This could mean it is your insurance company calling you about defense, or it could mean it is the defendant’s insurance company calling you to gather information to use in their claim against your insurance.
In any case, if you are really the victim, then you need a plaintiff’s lawyer on your side, not a defense lawyer. So call our Bayonne, NJ car accident lawyers about getting your claim paid first and foremost – and if the defense wants to claim you were partially at fault, we can deal with that within your case.
What Do Insurance Adjusters Want When They Call?
In most cases, an insurance adjuster will be calling you to get more information about a claim you filed with them. This likely means it is your insurance company, and they want info about your injuries, how much your hospital bills cost, coordinating vehicle repairs, etc. You can work with your insurance company on these issues, but you should still go through your lawyer.
If it is the other driver’s insurance, they want information and evidence to blame you for the accident. In either case, you should avoid talking to the insurance company or giving statements; do all of that through your own lawyer.
Should You Talk to Insurance if They Call?
Generally, no. Instead, tell them you have a lawyer or are planning on getting a lawyer, then have them talk to your lawyer instead.
Once you are represented, other parties to the case should not be talking to you directly. They should go through your lawyer. This helps prevent any accidental disclosures and stops the insurance companies from taking advantage of you outside of your lawyer’s presence.
Should You Call an Insurance Adjuster Back if You Miss the Call?
If the insurance company calls you and leaves a message, they likely will want a call back. Let our lawyers do that for you instead. Any calls you make are likely recorded, and they can use anything you say on the phone against you. Do not call them back until you’ve spoken with your lawyers first.
Do Insurance Adjusters Record Calls?
Usually, yes. However, they often claim that the recordings are for training purposes. Even so, once they have recordings in their possession, they can likely review them and use them for whatever purpose they want.
This means that anything you tell an insurance adjuster on the phone or in writing likely could be stored and used as evidence in the claim process, and potentially even in court.
Should You Give Your Insurance Company Records and Evidence?
The simple answer is that you should let your lawyer handle it. That being said, if you are trying to file a claim with your no-fault insurance without a lawyer, you will need to provide them the evidence and records they are asking for, or else they will probably reject the claim.
Even with your own insurance, you should not trust them to have your back and pay your claim in full.
Should You Give the Other Driver’s Insurance Records and Evidence?
The other driver will also likely make a claim with their own insurance. As part of their investigation, they might call the other drivers involved for records and evidence. However, you really aren’t involved in that claim, so you should talk to your lawyer before providing them anything.
It may eventually turn into them trying to blame the crash on you and filing a claim against you, so you should not volunteer anything for their separate claim. If they are filing a counterclaim against you or trying to blame you for your own injuries, then let your lawyer handle it as part of your injury case.
What if the Other Driver Has the Same Insurance Company as You?
Especially with big insurance companies, you and the driver who hit you might have the same insurance company. This makes it harder to trust your own insurance, and you should definitely have a lawyer handle your case.
Can You Email or Text Insurance Instead of Calling Them?
Many insurance companies allow you to use an app or an online form to submit a claim, and many insurance adjusters follow up by email to get additional evidence and records. However, insurance companies still usually want to get you on the phone at some point to make sure you are a real person filing a real claim, and so they can try to get more information out of you.
For this reason, your case will likely involve talking to an adjuster at some point – but you should let your lawyers handle that conversation.
Call Our Car Accident Lawyers in NJ Today
Call (551) 525-6465 for a free case review with the Elizabeth, NJ car accident lawyers at Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C.