Should I talk with an insurance adjuster?

Generally, no. An insurance adjuster’s duty is not only to pay legitimate claims, but to save the insurance company money. Most insurance adjusters are nice, honest people, but the nature of their business can easily make them your adversary. Anything you say to an adjuster can be used against you down the line. It is easy to say things we don’t intend to say and to misinterpret what people tell us. A harmless and truthful statement now can emerge in a harmful or untruthful form later.

Communicating with an insurance company for the other side is always risky. Be cautious about making a demand for a specific amount of money. If you tell the adjuster you want a lot of money for a minor injury, the adjuster will not treat you seriously. If you come up with a figure that seems to reasonable to you, the adjuster will use it as a ceiling and try to negotiate down from that. If you later retain an attorney and find out that the case is worth more than you thought, it will be very difficult for your attorney to be able to negotiate a fair settlement for you because the adjuster will not want to pay more than the amount you originally suggested.

If you do intend to handle your own claim with an insurance adjuster, you should talk with a lawyer first in order to find out the best way to go about it. If you have received a minor injury, without a lot of medical treatment, and you have a full recovery, you might be better off dealing directly with the adjuster rather than retaining an attorney. If it seems to you that your case is too small to involve an attorney, there is a good chance the attorney would agree with you. Our policy is to try to help all potential clients even if we can’t afford to represent them. In our office, when it appears that there will be no real benefit to the client from retaining us, we are always pleased to give the client our best guidance on how to get the job done without us.

Personal Injury Claims