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After a car accident, one of the first people you’ll hear from is an insurance adjuster from the at-fault driver’s insurance company. They’ll often seem helpful, reasonable, and genuinely concerned about your situation. That’s by design. Adjusters are trained communicators whose job is to resolve claims as efficiently and inexpensively as possible for their employer. Understanding that dynamic before you pick up the phone changes how you approach every interaction.
What an Adjuster’s Job Actually Is
An insurance adjuster works for the insurance company, not for you. Their goal is to gather information, assess liability, and settle your claim for as little as possible. That doesn’t make them villains. It makes them professionals doing their job.
The adjuster assigned to your claim may be friendly, responsive, and easy to talk to. None of that changes whose interests they represent.
The Recorded Statement Problem
One of the first things an adjuster will often request is a recorded statement about the accident. They’ll frame it as routine, something they need to process your claim. You’re generally not required to give one to the other driver’s insurer, and doing so without legal guidance carries risk.
Adjusters are skilled at asking questions that seem innocuous but can produce answers that hurt your claim. A casual comment about feeling okay at the scene, downplaying your injury, a slightly inconsistent account of how the crash happened, or an admission that you were distracted for a moment can all be used to dispute liability or reduce your compensation later.
If you have your own claim with your own insurer (such as an uninsured motorist claim), your policy may require you to cooperate, but even in those cases you should understand what you’re agreeing to before the recording starts. Connecting with a Keene car accident lawyer before giving any recorded statement is a smart move.
How Adjusters Evaluate and Minimize Claims
Understanding the tactics adjusters often use can help you watch out for pitfalls. Common tactics include:
- Early settlement offers: A quick offer shortly after the accident is almost always lower than what the claim is worth. It comes before you fully understand your injuries or long-term costs, and accepting it closes your claim permanently.
- Disputing injury severity: Adjusters will look for inconsistencies in your medical records, gaps in treatment, or statements suggesting your injuries aren’t as serious as claimed.
- Blaming pre-existing conditions: If your medical history shows prior injuries to the same body parts, expect an argument that your current condition is pre-existing rather than accident-related.
- Comparative fault arguments: Under New Hampshire’s modified comparative fault rules, pushing some fault onto you directly reduces what the insurer owes. Adjusters look for any evidence that supports a shared fault narrative.
None of these tactics are guaranteed to work. They’re negotiating tools, and they can be countered with the right preparation and documentation.
What Strengthens Your Position
A few things that consistently improve how claims are handled in negotiations:
- Seek medical attention immediately and follow through consistently with all recommended treatment
- Keep records of every appointment, prescription, and out-of-pocket expense related to your injuries
- Document how your injuries affect your daily life, work, and activities in a written journal
- Don’t discuss the accident or your injuries on social media during an active claim
- Let your attorney handle communications with the adjuster once you have representation
That last point matters more than most people expect. When an attorney is involved, the dynamic shifts. Adjusters know that an experienced litigator can take the case to trial and that juries in New Hampshire can award significant damages. The incentive to settle fairly increases considerably.
When Negotiations Break Down
Sometimes adjusters won’t budge from an inadequate offer regardless of the evidence. That’s when litigation becomes the path to fair compensation. New Hampshire’s statute of limitations for car accident claims is three years from the date of the accident, but waiting too long to escalate a stalled negotiation can hurt your case in other ways.
Welts, White, & Fontaine, P.C. has represented injured New Hampshire drivers in car accident claims for decades, handling both negotiations and litigation against insurers who refuse to treat claims fairly. If you’re dealing with an adjuster who isn’t taking your claim seriously, speaking with a Keene car accident lawyer gives you a clearer picture of your options and a stronger position at the table.