THE ADJUSTER CALLED.
NOW WHAT?

Why they call so quickly

Adjusters often make contact within 24 to 48 hours, before you've seen a doctor, before you know how badly you're hurt, and before you've spoken to a lawyer. That timing is deliberate. Statements taken early lock in answers that are hard to walk back once the full picture emerges.

The adjuster's job is to resolve the claim for as little as the file will bear. They may be perfectly pleasant while doing it. Those two things aren't in conflict.

What you're actually obligated to provide

To the other driver's insurer: essentially nothing beyond basic identifying information. No recorded statement. No medical authorization. No detailed narrative of the accident. No speculation about your injuries. You can decline politely and refer them to your lawyer.

To your own insurer: your policy requires prompt notice and reasonable cooperation, and that's a real obligation with real consequences if you ignore it. Report the accident. If they ask for a recorded statement, you can say you'd like to speak to counsel first — but don't simply stonewall your own carrier.

The specific requests to decline

The recorded statement. Questions are constructed carefully. “Would you say you're doing okay?” becomes an admission you weren't injured. “About how fast were you going?” becomes a speed estimate you can't support. “Had you been to a chiropractor before?” opens a preexisting-condition defense.

The blanket medical authorization. They'll frame it as necessary to process your claim. What it actually does is give them access to your entire medical history so they can find something to blame. Records relevant to this injury can be provided in a controlled way.

The quick settlement. An early check feels like relief when bills are arriving. But signing the release ends the claim permanently. If you need an MRI in two months, or surgery in six, that's yours to pay for.

Vague authorizations of any kind. Read anything before signing. If you're not sure what it does, that's the signal to have someone look at it.

How the offers work

The first offer is nearly always well below what the file supports. It's a starting position that also tests how informed you are and whether you're represented.

Common tactics: disputing the necessity of treatment, characterizing a crash as “low impact” regardless of your injuries, pointing to any gap in treatment as proof the injury wasn't serious, attributing symptoms to a preexisting condition, and delaying in the hope that mounting bills make you accept less.

None of this is unusual or a sign something has gone wrong with your case. It's the ordinary posture of claims handling.

When a delay becomes something more

California imposes obligations on insurers regarding how claims are handled — reasonable promptness, fair investigation, and a reasonable basis for denial. An insurer that ignores communications for months, denies without investigating, or refuses a clearly covered claim may be exposed beyond the value of the underlying claim. That's a narrower issue than most people assume, but it's real, and it's worth flagging to a lawyer when the pattern looks unreasonable rather than merely slow.

What to do instead

Be polite, be brief, and give them your name, contact information, and the fact that an accident occurred. Decline the recorded statement. Decline the authorization. Tell them you'll be in touch or that your attorney will.

Then get treated and document everything.