The call that comes in 48 hours · Fla. Stat. 768.81
What Not to Say to Insurance After a Car Accident in Florida
Someone from an insurance company will call you within a day or two, and they will be friendly, efficient, and recording. That call is not paperwork. Since Florida's 2023 tort reform put a hard bar at 50% fault, a few sentences from a shaken claimant can be the difference between a claim worth something and a claim worth nothing at all. Knowing which company is calling, and what you owe them, decides how that goes.
- 50%fault above which you recover nothing
- 24 to 48htypical time before the first adjuster call
- Yoursthe only insurer you have a contract with
- Recordedassume every call is, because it is
Independent informational site. Not a law firm, not legal advice.
First, work out whose adjuster is calling
Everything about your obligations turns on this, and callers often do not make it obvious.
Your own insurer. You have a contract with them, and that contract contains a cooperation clause. You are obligated to report the crash promptly and to cooperate with their investigation of your PIP claim. Refusing to speak with your own carrier can jeopardize your own coverage.
The other driver's insurer. You have no contract with this company and no obligation to give them a recorded statement. They are gathering information to evaluate, and where possible reduce, what they may owe you. That is their job, done competently, and it is not personal. It is also not your job to make it easier.
So the first question on any call is which company are you with, and are you recording. Both are reasonable questions and a professional adjuster answers both without friction.
The four phrases that do the most damage
"I'm fine." The reflex answer to how are you, and in a recorded claim file it becomes a statement about your medical condition made before you were examined. Soft tissue and spinal injuries take 24 to 72 hours to present. The accurate answer is that you are being evaluated and do not yet know the extent of your injuries.
"I'm sorry." Ordinary politeness, read later as an admission. Florida apportions fault as a percentage under Fla. Stat. 768.81, and after 2023 a claimant found more than 50% at fault recovers nothing at all. An apology is a free contribution to the argument that your share should be higher.
"I think he was going about..." Guessing. Speed, distance, and timing estimates from someone who was inside one of the vehicles are unreliable, and a wrong guess that is later contradicted by physical evidence becomes a credibility problem rather than a mistake. I do not know is a complete and accurate answer.
"I've had back problems before." Volunteered medical history, offered to seem cooperative, handed to the party whose best argument is that your injury predates the crash. Prior conditions do not bar a Florida claim, since aggravation of a pre-existing condition is compensable, but the disclosure and the context belong in a medical record and a considered claim presentation, not in an unprepared phone call.
What you owe, and to whom
| Request | Your own insurer | The other driver's insurer |
|---|---|---|
| Prompt notice of the crash | Yes, contractual | No |
| Basic facts: date, location, vehicles | Yes | Generally harmless |
| Recorded statement | Usually contractual, cooperation clause | No obligation |
| Blanket medical authorization | Limited to the claim | No, and this is the request to refuse |
| Accepting a quick settlement | Never before you know the injury | Never before you know the injury |
The blanket medical authorization row is the one to understand. A broad signed release lets an insurer pull your complete medical history rather than records related to this crash, and its purpose is to find something older to attribute your symptoms to. Records relevant to the injury are a normal part of a claim. Your entire history is not.
The early settlement offer deserves the same suspicion, for a structural reason rather than a cynical one. An offer made before you reach maximum medical improvement is cheap precisely because nobody yet knows what the injury is, and the release you sign is final. The settlement timeline page covers why nothing can be valued before that point.
What to actually say
None of this requires being adversarial, and hostility toward an adjuster accomplishes nothing. It requires being brief.
Confirm the facts that are not in dispute: your name, that you were involved, the date, the location, the vehicles. Refer them to the crash report for the account of how it happened, since the report already exists and repeating it from memory only creates opportunities for inconsistency. State that you are under medical evaluation and not yet able to describe your injuries. Decline a recorded statement to the other driver's carrier, politely and without explanation, and decline to sign anything you have not read.
Then keep your own record: who called, which company, the date and time, and what was asked. Claims are reconstructed months later from exactly these details, and nobody remembers them without notes.
A short call also protects you from the fault arithmetic. Under the 50% bar the percentage assigned to you is set early, largely from the crash report and the other driver's account, and every extra volunteered detail is another opportunity to move it upward.
Talking to insurance questions
Do I have to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance?
No. You have no contract with the other driver's insurer and no obligation to give them a recorded statement. You can decline politely and provide only basic identifying facts. Your own insurer is different, because your policy contains a cooperation clause and refusing them can put your own coverage at risk.
Do I have to report the crash to my own insurance if it was not my fault?
Yes. Policies require prompt notice regardless of fault, and in Florida your own PIP is the first payer for your medical bills no matter who caused the collision. Delaying notice can create a coverage problem on top of the injury. Florida law also restricts surcharging insureds for not-at-fault claims.
What should I not say to my insurance company?
Avoid speculation about speed or distance, avoid characterizing your injuries before you have been examined, and avoid apologizing. Report the facts accurately and completely, and never misstate anything, since a false statement to your own carrier is a far worse problem than any admission. The goal is accuracy and brevity rather than concealment.
Should I sign the medical authorization they sent?
Read what it covers. An authorization limited to records related to this crash is ordinary. A blanket release covering your entire medical history is the request worth pausing on, because its function is to locate a pre-existing condition to attribute your symptoms to. This is a reasonable point to speak with a licensed Florida attorney before signing.
The adjuster was really nice. Is that a bad sign?
It is neither good nor bad; it is professional. Adjusters are trained to be pleasant and most of them genuinely are. The relevant fact is structural rather than personal: the other driver's adjuster is paid by a company whose financial interest runs opposite to yours, and courtesy does not change that. Judge the claim by what is offered in writing.
They offered me money on the first call. Should I take it?
An offer made before you know the extent of your injuries is priced on that uncertainty, and the release is final. If the injury turns out worse later, there is no reopening it. Property damage can often be settled separately and early; injury claims generally should not be, and that decision is worth putting to a licensed Florida attorney.
Primary sources: Fla. Stat. 768.81 (comparative fault apportionment and the bar on recovery above 50%, as amended by House Bill 837), Fla. Stat. 627.736 (PIP as first payer regardless of fault), Fla. Stat. 627.7283 and related provisions on policy obligations. Statute text at Online Sunshine. General information, not legal advice; your obligations depend on your specific policy language. Never misrepresent facts to any insurer. Last reviewed August 2, 2026.