What does an insurance adjuster do? Most advice about adjusters frames them as adversaries trying to trick you. That is not quite right, and the inaccurate version leads people to make bad decisions. An adjuster is an employee working a file within a defined process. If you believe an insurer is handling your claim improperly, every state has a Department of Insurance that accepts consumer complaints, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners maintains the directory of state regulators. Understanding the process is more useful than treating them as an enemy.
I am not a lawyer and this is general information, not legal advice. Laws and insurance practice vary by state. Speak to an attorney licensed in your state about your own situation.
The claim file
Everything becomes part of a file: the police report, photographs, your recorded statement if you gave one, medical records, bills, and every note the adjuster writes after speaking to you. Notes taken in the first week persist for the life of the claim, which is why offhand remarks early on matter more than people expect.
The reserve
Early in the claim the adjuster sets a reserve, an internal estimate of what the claim will eventually cost the insurer. It is an accounting figure, but it has practical consequences: it anchors expectations internally, and moving well above it later requires justification and often supervisor approval.
This is one reason documentation submitted early tends to be more effective than the same documentation submitted late. It influences the reserve while the reserve is still being set.
Authority limits
Adjusters can settle up to a defined amount without approval. Above that, the file goes to a supervisor, and above another threshold, higher again. This explains behaviour that otherwise looks like stalling. An adjuster who says they need to check on something is frequently telling the literal truth.
It also explains why offers arrive in steps rather than jumping. It is why negotiations take the shape they do. See why settlements take so long.
Why the first offer is low
The first offer is not an insult and it is not an estimate of your claim’s value. It is an opening position made on incomplete information, and a meaningful number of claimants accept it. From the insurer’s side, making a low first offer costs nothing and sometimes closes a file cheaply.
Treat it as the start of a conversation. A written response with documentation attached moves the number far more reliably than an argument on the phone. See how to structure a demand.
The recorded statement
You are generally required to cooperate with your own insurer. You are generally not required to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer.
The request usually comes within days of the crash, before you know the full extent of your injuries. The problem is not that adjusters ask trick questions. It is that a reasonable answer given in week one, such as saying you feel fine, becomes a fixed record that is difficult to reconcile with a diagnosis in week four.
If you already gave one, it is not fatal. Tell an attorney exactly what you said and let them work around it.
How soft tissue claims get valued
For injuries without objective imaging findings, adjusters lean heavily on treatment patterns: how soon you sought care, how consistently you attended, how long treatment continued, and whether the provider type is one they consider credible. This is why gaps in treatment damage claims so disproportionately.
Practical takeaways
- Be factual, brief, and consistent in every communication.
- Do not speculate about fault, speed, or how you feel physically.
- Put substantive positions in writing.
- Submit documentation early rather than holding it back.
- Do not treat the first offer as information about your claim’s value.
- Understand that the adjuster’s constraints are real and not personal.