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What an adjuster is doing when they call you
The first call is friendly, quick, and recorded. Here is what it is actually for, and what a reasonable person should say.
Insurance tactics
5 min
Elena Marsh
Filed under
Insurance tactics
Published
Reading time
5 min
Written by
Elena Marsh
The short version
The first call is early on purpose, before your injuries have declared themselves
You may confirm the basic facts without narrating the crash
"I am still being treated" is a complete and reasonable answer
If you have already given a statement, say so plainly — it is rarely fatal
Written by
Elena Marsh
Founding partner
If any of this is your situation, the call is free and it stays free unless we recover money for you.
4.9 from 212 client reviews
The short version
The first call is early on purpose, before your injuries have declared themselves
You may confirm the basic facts without narrating the crash
"I am still being treated" is a complete and reasonable answer
If you have already given a statement, say so plainly — it is rarely fatal
The first letter, before anyone has decided anything
An adjuster will usually reach you within a day or two, often before you have seen a doctor twice. The call is short and the tone is kind. That is not a trick; it is training. But the purpose of the call is not to check how you are.
Three things the call is for
The first is to fix your account of the crash while you still have gaps in it. Memory for sequence degrades faster than memory for detail, and an account given on day two will be compared against everything you say for the next two years.
The second is to find out how hurt you are before you know. Soft tissue and head injury often present late. "I'm okay, just a bit sore" is a sentence that gets quoted back.
The third is to open a settlement conversation early, while the number that would feel like relief is still small.
What is reasonable to say
You are entitled to confirm who you are, that you were involved, and that you are getting medical attention. You are not obliged to narrate the crash, to estimate speeds, to guess at fault, or to describe your injuries before a doctor has.
"I am still being treated and I am not ready to give a statement" is a complete answer. It is not evasive and it is not an admission of anything.
If you have already spoken to them
It is almost never fatal. Statements get clarified and corrected all the time, and an adjuster who has a recording of you being honest and uncertain has less than they think. Tell whoever ends up acting for you exactly what you said, including the parts you would rather not repeat.
Nothing about the first call is neutral. It is the opening of a file that will be read by someone whose job is to close it.
What to do next
Write down the date, time and name of anyone from an insurer who has called you
Note what you told them, as close to word for word as you can manage
Keep seeing your doctor on the schedule they set, not the one that suits the claim
If any of this is your situation, the call is free and it stays free unless we recover money for you.
4.9 from 212 client reviews
This is general information about how these cases usually run in California. It is not advice about your situation, and reading it does not make us your lawyers. Every case turns on its own facts.
We take on the insurers, the paperwork and the phone calls, so you can get on with getting better.
Reach us
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Copied
hello@injuria.law
1 Sansome Street, Suite 3500
San Francisco, CA 94104
© 2026 Injuria LLP
Attorney advertising
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome
We take on the insurers, the paperwork and the phone calls, so you can get on with getting better.
Reach us
Copy component
Copied
hello@injuria.law
1 Sansome Street, Suite 3500
San Francisco, CA 94104
© 2026 Injuria LLP
Attorney advertising
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome
Back to the journal
What an adjuster is doing when they call you
The first call is friendly, quick, and recorded. Here is what it is actually for, and what a reasonable person should say.
Insurance tactics
5 min
Elena Marsh
Filed under
Insurance tactics
Published
Reading time
5 min
Written by
Elena Marsh
The short version
The first call is early on purpose, before your injuries have declared themselves
You may confirm the basic facts without narrating the crash
"I am still being treated" is a complete and reasonable answer
If you have already given a statement, say so plainly — it is rarely fatal
Written by
Elena Marsh
Founding partner
If any of this is your situation, the call is free and it stays free unless we recover money for you.
4.9 from 212 client reviews
The short version
The first call is early on purpose, before your injuries have declared themselves
You may confirm the basic facts without narrating the crash
"I am still being treated" is a complete and reasonable answer
If you have already given a statement, say so plainly — it is rarely fatal
The first letter, before anyone has decided anything
An adjuster will usually reach you within a day or two, often before you have seen a doctor twice. The call is short and the tone is kind. That is not a trick; it is training. But the purpose of the call is not to check how you are.
Three things the call is for
The first is to fix your account of the crash while you still have gaps in it. Memory for sequence degrades faster than memory for detail, and an account given on day two will be compared against everything you say for the next two years.
The second is to find out how hurt you are before you know. Soft tissue and head injury often present late. "I'm okay, just a bit sore" is a sentence that gets quoted back.
The third is to open a settlement conversation early, while the number that would feel like relief is still small.
What is reasonable to say
You are entitled to confirm who you are, that you were involved, and that you are getting medical attention. You are not obliged to narrate the crash, to estimate speeds, to guess at fault, or to describe your injuries before a doctor has.
"I am still being treated and I am not ready to give a statement" is a complete answer. It is not evasive and it is not an admission of anything.
If you have already spoken to them
It is almost never fatal. Statements get clarified and corrected all the time, and an adjuster who has a recording of you being honest and uncertain has less than they think. Tell whoever ends up acting for you exactly what you said, including the parts you would rather not repeat.
Nothing about the first call is neutral. It is the opening of a file that will be read by someone whose job is to close it.
What to do next
Write down the date, time and name of anyone from an insurer who has called you
Note what you told them, as close to word for word as you can manage
Keep seeing your doctor on the schedule they set, not the one that suits the claim
If any of this is your situation, the call is free and it stays free unless we recover money for you.
4.9 from 212 client reviews
This is general information about how these cases usually run in California. It is not advice about your situation, and reading it does not make us your lawyers. Every case turns on its own facts.
We take on the insurers, the paperwork and the phone calls, so you can get on with getting better.
Reach us
Copy component
Copied
hello@injuria.law
1 Sansome Street, Suite 3500
San Francisco, CA 94104
© 2026 Injuria LLP
Attorney advertising
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome