Short answer
Short answer. In the first few days, the other driver's adjuster may ask for a recorded statement, a medical authorization or a quick settlement. You don't have to decide anything on that call: ask for every request and offer in writing, sign nothing yet, keep your records together and get treated.
Who is on the phone
Start by finding out which company the caller works for. The adjuster for the at-fault driver's insurer works for that company, not for you. Your own insurer may call too, about your car or your own coverage, and your policy may require you to cooperate with it. Those are two different conversations. Write down the name, company, phone number and claim number for each one before you answer anything else.
Our guide to insurance calls after a wreck covers call notes, recorded statements and what to do when a claim stalls. This page sticks to the first few days and the first offer.
What the first call may sound like
Every adjuster is different, but early calls often include some of these:
- A friendly check-in: how are you feeling, is your car drivable?
- A request to record your account of the crash.
- A form to sign so the insurer can get your medical records.
- Questions about your doctor visits, your job and any old injuries.
- Talk of "getting this wrapped up" or a number to close the claim.
None of that is unusual, and none of it needs an answer on the spot.
Plain answers you can use
You don't need legal words. Short, true sentences work. Here are a few you can say in your own voice:
| If the adjuster says... | You can say... |
|---|---|
| "How are you feeling?" | "I'm still getting checked out. I'll know more after I see the doctor." |
| "Can I record your statement?" | "Not today. Please send me what you need in writing." |
| "Just sign this form so we can get your records." | "Please email it to me. I'd like to read it first." |
| "We can make you an offer today." | "Please put it in writing, and tell me what records you based it on." |
| "This offer is only good until Friday." | "Please send the deadline in writing with the offer." |
| "Did you have any problems with your neck before?" | Answer honestly. If you aren't sure, say "I'd have to check my records." |
If a question goes past what you know, see our guide on what you can answer and what you cannot.
What a first offer may look like
An early offer might come as a phone call, an email, a letter with a release attached, or a check. It may come after one or two doctor visits, before anyone knows whether you'll need therapy, imaging or a specialist. When an offer comes that early, it's built on what the adjuster has, which may be very little.
Before you think about the number, find out what it's for. Is it your car, your injuries or both? A payment for your car is separate from an injury claim, but read anything that comes with it. See property damage and rental cars.
Papers not to sign yet
Hold off on signing these until you've read every page and know what they do:
- A release. It may say "any and all claims," cover people besides the driver, or include injuries you don't know about yet. Our guide to what to check before accepting a settlement walks through release wording.
- A check with release language on it. Oklahoma's Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act lists, among unfair practices, issuing a partial-payment check that contains "language releasing an insurer or its insured from its total liability" (36 O.S. § 1250.5(9)), and the Act reaches conduct that is flagrant or a general business practice (§ 1250.3(B)).
- A broad medical authorization. Check whose records it reaches and how far back. Ask whether you can send the records for this crash yourself.
If something has to be signed for your car to be fixed or paid off, read it for any words about injuries before you sign.
What to gather this week
A folder or a phone album is enough. Put these in it:
- Each claim number, adjuster name and phone number.
- The crash report number, or the agency that worked the wreck. See Oklahoma crash reports.
- Photos of the cars, the scene and your injuries.
- Every urgent care, ER and doctor visit, with discharge papers.
- Days and hours you missed at work. See missed work after a car accident.
- Your own policy's declarations page, so you know what coverage you have.
- Receipts for prescriptions, braces, rides and other costs.
Keep anything the adjuster sends you, including envelopes and emails. For more on tracking costs, see documenting car accident losses.
Deadlines: the insurer's and the law's
A date in an offer letter is the insurer's date. Oklahoma law says insurers shall not make statements that "indicate that the rights of a third party claimant may be impaired if a form or release is not completed within a given period of time," unless the point is to tell the claimant about a statute of limitations (36 O.S. § 1250.7(F)).
The deadline that matters more is the one for filing suit. Most Oklahoma injury claims against another driver fall in the two-year group of 12 O.S. § 95(A)(3). See Oklahoma car accident deadlines.
If the offer is the other driver's full limits
Sometimes the first offer is everything the other driver's policy will pay. If your losses may be bigger and you have underinsured motorist coverage, don't sign yet. Oklahoma law calls for written notice by certified mail to your own UM insurer once a tentative limits settlement is reached, and that insurer has 60 days to respond (36 O.S. § 3636(F)). See the underinsured settlement notice.
How a lawyer helps in the first few days
A lawyer can take the adjuster's calls for you, ask for the offer and its basis in writing, collect the records the insurer doesn't have and read any release before you're bound by it. Some early offers are fair. The point is to know what you're holding before you sign.
Common questions
Can I take the adjuster's first call without agreeing to anything?
Yes. You can take the call and still decide nothing. Get the caller's name, company and claim number, and ask for any request or offer in writing. Your own policy may have different duties, so read it or ask about it.
What if I already told the adjuster I was fine?
It happens. If symptoms show up later, get checked, keep the records and tell the adjuster in writing that you're being treated.
Does the offer expire on the date in the letter?
If a letter gives a date, ask the adjuster in writing what it means. Either way, the two-year lawsuit deadline for most injury claims still runs, so don't wait without a plan.
Talk with us
If an adjuster is already calling or an offer just arrived, call (405) 759-0515 or send us a message before you sign. Jason Hicks personally reviews every 405 inquiry. We handle cases on a contingency fee. If there's no recovery, there's no fee. We front the case costs. See fees and costs.
Information, not legal advice.