After a car accident, dealing with insurance companies can feel overwhelming—but knowing what to say (and what not to say) makes all the difference. In this episode, attorney Mark Perlman of Mazow McCullough joins John Maher to break down the do’s and don’ts of communicating with your insurer and the other driver’s insurance company. Learn why documenting everything matters, when to contact a lawyer, and how to avoid common pitfalls that could hurt your claim. Whether it’s a fender bender or a more serious crash, this episode offers smart, practical advice to help you protect yourself after an accident.
John Maher: Hi, I am John Maher and I’m here today with Attorney Mark Perlman from the law office of Mazow McCullough. And today we’re talking about how to effectively communicate with insurance companies. Welcome Mark.
Mark Perlman: Great to be here.
What is the First Thing to do After an Auto Accident
Maher: So, Mark, what’s the first thing that someone should do after an accident when they’re contacting their insurance company?
Perlman: Right, so after an accident, you’ll definitely want to contact your insurance company and let them know exactly what took place and provide a copy of a police report if you’re able to get one, if even it was a car accident.
And you’ll want to contact an attorney as soon as possible because they’ll be the primary point of contact from there on out between your insurance company and also the at fault party’s insurance company.
What Should You Provide to the Insurance Company?
Maher: Now if you contact the insurance company yourself, what is it that you’re supposed to provide? Just all the details about the accident and what happened?
Perlman: Yeah, they usually ask you where it took place, the time, information about you, the other driver, cars, make and model, all that kind of stuff. And maybe a brief description of exactly what took place. They’ll definitely want a copy of the police report as well.
How to Document Accident Information
Maher: How do you best document all of that information? Obviously tensions are high, maybe, right after an accident or you’re kind of upset, you want to just get out there as soon as possible. How do you document all of those details so that you have the correct information to give to your insurance company?
Perlman: Yeah, being in an accident can be very stressful. I’ve been in one myself and yeah, I mean when it happens you’re almost in disbelief and you don’t know what to do. You’re almost in a little bit in panic mode, but it’s important to really try and stay calm and document things the best you can.
Taking pictures of damage to your car and the other car, maybe writing down the other party’s license plate number, getting their name and information in case they do try and take off from the scene or something like that.
And just staying there until the police arrives so you can give an accurate description of what took place because all that documentation that you get at the time of the accident is going to help your case later on.
What to Say to the Other Insurance Company
Maher: Now you might get a phone call from the other insurance company, the insurance company of the person who was in the accident with you, who perhaps injured you. What should you say or not say if you get one of those calls?
Perlman: So, unlike getting a call from your own insurance company where you have a contractual really obligation to apprise them of the situation, you don’t have that same obligation with the other party’s insurance company. So, it’s best to get an attorney and have the attorney be the primary point of contact between the other insurance company and yourself so they can be able to relay exactly what took place, what your injuries were, and they can negotiate a fair and reasonable settlement for you.
What can Go Wrong Negotiating a Settlement for Yourself?
Maher: Otherwise, if you do it yourself, what are some of the things that can go wrong?
Perlman: Yeah, I mean if you do it yourself, it’s possible you might sort of relay information that’s inaccurate about what took place or something that might kind of be negative for your case. So, just being able to have an attorney who can present your case to the insurance company and with all of your records and bills and your injuries and how it’s affected you, it’s just going to ensure that you’ll maximize the amount you’ll get for your injuries.
Maher: Do people maybe panic and if they say, oh, how are you feeling? And they might say, oh, I’m fine, or something like that, and then the other insurance company’s like, what? You’re fine, I thought you were injured. But even though that might just be a normal thing that you might say when somebody asks you how you’re doing.
Perlman: Exactly.
Maher: Those kinds of things could go wrong.
Perlman: Exactly, because anything you say to the other insurance company is going to be used against you later on, whether it’s when you’re answering discovery or at your deposition or at trial. So, it’s best to have an attorney who can sort of relay that information for you, and especially if you’re going to be talking to the other party’s insurance company early on in the process, you might feel fine a day or two after the accident, but maybe a few days later you start to feel really sore and things can kind of change. So it’s just best to hold off and talk to them too soon and getting counsel.
How to Ensure a Claim is Not Delayed
Maher: Sure. Sometimes a claim might be delayed or even denied. Are there ways to help ensure that that doesn’t happen to you?
Perlman: Yeah, so for claims that you feel like are being delayed, definitely you want to have an attorney who is constantly reaching out to the insurance company and the adjuster, and giving them updates on how you’re doing your treatment, what your injuries are, and just constantly keeping them apprised so the claim doesn’t get lost.
Because a lot of these claims adjusters, they have a lot of cases that they’re working on. So if you can have an attorney who’s constantly updating them and reaching out, it can make sure that it’s always on the front burner and it’s getting that attention.
When Should You Contact an Attorney?
Maher: So, you’ve mentioned obviously contacting an attorney, that you think that that’s really important. When in the process should you contact the attorney? Is it immediately after the accident, before you even call your insurance company? And are there particular accidents where you can probably just handle this on your own without having to contact your attorney?
Perlman: I think after an accident, if you’re injured, the most important thing is to get yourself treatment and get yourself better and get that. But once you get that treatment, you’ll want to contact your own insurance company and notify them of what happened, what took place, and then it’s best to contact an attorney at that point, if you did suffer some serious injuries from the accident.
Can You Handle a Fender Bender on Your Own?
Maher: Generally, if you just have a little fender bender in a car or something like that and nobody’s injured, then it would be okay to handle that on your own. But anytime somebody’s injured, you should really get an attorney involved.
Perlman: Yeah, yeah. I mean, so in Massachusetts, in order to bring a car accident case, you have to have incurred at least $2,000 in medical bills. So, if it was just a minor fender bender and you really weren’t hurt, and didn’t get any medical treatment, I think that’s something that you probably don’t need an attorney for, you can kind of handle on your own.
Maher: Otherwise, like you said, anything over a couple of thousand dollars’ worth of injuries to you that you’re going to be paying medical bills for, you definitely, want to have that somebody on your side.
Perlman: Yeah, exactly.
Maher: All right, well that’s really great information, Mark. Thanks again for speaking with me today.
Perlman: Thank you.
Maher: And for more information, you can visit the Mazow McCullough website at helpinginjured.com or call (978) 744-8000.
