What to Say to the Other Driver's Adjuster
The recorded statement is not a formality. Here is what an adjuster is listening for, and the four sentences that end the call safely.
The other driver’s adjuster will call you, usually within seventy-two hours, and they will be friendly. That is not a trick — most adjusters are decent people doing a job. The job is to resolve your claim for as little as the file will allow, and the recorded statement is one of the main tools for doing it.
You are not required to give one
Let me put that plainly, because it is the part nobody tells you: you have no obligation to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer. Your own policy may require your cooperation with your own insurer. The at-fault driver’s carrier is a different company with opposing interests, and “we just need your statement to process the claim” is a sentence, not a legal requirement.
What they are actually listening for
”I’m fine”
The most expensive two words after a wreck. Adrenaline masks soft-tissue injury for days, and a recorded “I’m doing okay” gets read back to you six months into physical therapy.
An estimate you have no way to make
How fast were you going? How far back were you? How long was the light green? You are being asked to commit to numbers you did not measure, under a memory that is days old, and any later correction becomes an inconsistency.
A share of the blame
Georgia uses a comparative fault system, so the percentage you are assigned comes directly off what you recover. A polite “I probably could have braked sooner” is an offer of that percentage, made for free.
Nothing you say in a recorded statement can increase the value of your claim. It can only hold it where it is or reduce it.
The four sentences
If you take the call, these end it without being rude:
- “I’m not comfortable giving a recorded statement.”
- “I’m still treating, so I can’t tell you the extent of my injuries yet.”
- “You can send anything you need in writing.”
- “I’ll have my attorney’s office follow up with you.”
That fourth one changes the call immediately, and it is the reason the calls come early — before anyone has counsel.
What you should do
- Report the wreck to your own insurer promptly, as your policy requires.
- Keep the claim number and the adjuster’s name.
- Photograph the vehicles, the scene and your injuries as they develop.
- Do not post about the wreck. Social media is pulled in nearly every contested case.
If a call has already happened, it is not fatal — say so when you talk to a lawyer and we work with what was said. If it has not, this is the easiest thing you will ever do to protect a claim: call the office first.
General information about Georgia claims, not legal advice about yours.
