Their playbook protects profits, not people.
The adjuster who calls in the first week sounds helpful. That call is part of a process with a goal, and the goal is not your recovery. Here is what that process looks like from the inside, and what we do about each move.
They call before you know how hurt you are
We take over contact. You stop fielding calls and go back to treating, and nothing you say gets used to narrow the claim.
They ask for a recorded statement
You are not required to give one to the other driver's insurer. First we identify which company is actually calling — that alone changes what you should say.
They delay or nickel-and-dime PIP and MedPay
We push those benefits early, because they're the coverage that keeps treatment going while the liability claim is unresolved.
They question whether care was necessary
We build the medical record over time — with your providers, and with experts where a diagnosis is being minimized.
They demand a broad medical release
We narrow it to what is genuinely relevant. A blanket release invites a fishing expedition through your history.
They make a fast, low offer
We don't value a case until treatment stabilizes. An early number can't include future care, and once you sign, it's finished.
The adversary is sometimes the company you pay
Your own insurer owes you duties of good faith and fair dealing. That doesn't always stop it from acting adversarially — most often on underinsured motorist claims, at exactly the moment you need it.
IFCA
Washington's Insurance Fair Conduct Act applies to misconduct by your own insurer, alongside Washington bad-faith law.
But not the other side
The other driver's insurer owes you no IFCA duties — another reason to let a lawyer handle third-party negotiation.
We ask for the file
Requesting the claim file changes the conversation, because it shows how the decision was actually made.
Dashcam footage can be overwritten in about 30 days, and surveillance video often sooner. This is the part that can't be fixed later.
Call 911
An official police record is worth more than anyone's later recollection.
Get checked
Even if it seems minor. Hidden injuries surface days later, and a gap in treatment gets used against you.
Photograph everything
Vehicles, positions, the road, your injuries. Then keep photographing the injuries as they change.
Don't accept blame
Exchange information, but leave fault to the facts. Apologizing at a scene is human and it gets quoted back.
Call a lawyer early
Not because it's urgent for us — because evidence has a shelf life and some of it is already expiring.
You don't have to figure this out alone.
One free conversation, no pressure, and a straight answer about where you stand.