Providing a statement to the insurance adjuster assigned to your claim

Once a claim for bodily injury and property damage is submitted to an insurance company, they will assign a claims representative or claims adjuster and open a claim file.

Once the adjuster opens his file, he or she is likely to contact their insured for a review of the facts after reviewing the policy.  Once that happens, you can expect that the adjuster will reach out to you, the victim, for a statement.  While many lawyers will advise clients to remain tight-lipped about the incident to the insurance company while the firm investigates the claim, there is a different approach. The more information provided to the insurance company, the better the chance of showing more compensable pieces of your claim. This will make the claim of higher value. 

The initial statement taken by the insurance adjuster is simply to get a grasp of the overall claim and to determine how different, if any, the perspectives are from the insured and the victim.  The adjuster, at this stage, won’t go into minute detail, as he or she doesn’t have enough information about the claim yet.  In addition to asking facts, he or she very well might ask about glaring differences between statements of any witnesses.   

It’s very important to review your memory in your mind and discuss it with your attorney to make sure you don’t leave out any details.  This is likely your first statement, and this will be a benchmark statement that could be referred to throughout the claim or in trial.  If your story changes even in the slightest from this initial statement, you can be sure that it will be used against you often.

Discussion medical treatment 

In addition to the statement about the facts of the crash or incident that caused you to file a claim, the insurance adjuster will likely want to find out information about your injuries and your medical treatment.  It will be important to maintain a list of every single medical provider who has examined or treated you since the accident, along with a list of each pharmacy where you have purchased your prescriptions.

For these reasons, it is always smart to hire a veteran litigator and experienced trial lawyer who has been involved in these particular issues when filing an insurance claim and even presenting cases to a jury.  If you or a loved one has been injured or killed due to someone else’s negligence, contact a lawyer today.