Following an auto accident, victims are often bombarded with calls from claims personnel connected with various insurance companies asking how the accident happened and what injuries were sustained. Usually, there are three different insurance companies trying to get information: (1) the liability insurer for the at-fault driver, (2) your own auto insurance company and (3) your health insurance company.
The insurance company you have no obligation to speak to and who we recommend you do not speak to is the liability insurer for the at-fault driver. Almost without fail, soon after an accident, injured drivers will receive a call from a claims person from the responsible party’s insurance company. This claims person will likely be recording the conversation and will ask questions about how the accident occurred and what injuries were sustained; rarely is this to your benefit. Being only a few days out from the collision, the injured victim will not have the police crash report and investigation findings, will have only been discharged from urgent care or the ER and not had an opportunity to see their doctor or a specialist for their injuries. In other words, the injured victim usually does not know the full extent of their injuries or the details of the accident.
In spite of this information deficit, the at-fault insurance company will use this opportunity to lock you into how the collision occurred and what your injuries are all without the benefit and protection of counsel. This is a statement that may be used against you at future depositions and trial. Worse still, there are some insurance companies who use this early opportunity to pressure you into a accepting a settlement offer.
On the other hand, you do have a duty to communicate and cooperate with your own auto insurance and your health insurance company. Your insurance policies have specific terms and conditions that you must abide by, one of which is that the insured has a duty to cooperate and inform the insurance company about the loss (i.e. the collision and your injuries). If you choose to ignore your own insurance companies, you risk them not paying for medical treatment related to the collision and possibly risk your uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages should you need them. We are often told by our clients that one of the services they appreciate most is our office’s ability to force all insurance companies to run their questions, forms and requests through our office which we handle. This allows our clients to focus on the most important thing after an accident: getting better.