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After a Car Accident: What to Say, What to Sign, and When the First Offer Is Too Low

A hand signing a paper with a pen, with a sticky note reading “Bills: $6,300”.
Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash

A few days after a crash, the phone rings. A pleasant voice from the other driver's insurance company wants to ask a few questions, and would like to record the call. Sometimes a dollar figure comes up too, along with word that a check could go out this week. It isn't a courtesy call. In that first conversation it's easy to hand over two things that shrink what the claim pays.

What not to sign, plus a 30-day plan

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By Ray Castellano · Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Reviewed against NHTSA, Texas Department of Insurance, Illinois State Bar Association, Insurance Information Institute, CMS, California Courts, The Florida Bar

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Take a made-up example. An adjuster offers $4,000 a week after a rear-end collision, and the driver signs. Over the next month the bills trickle in from the emergency room, imaging and physical therapy, and together they come to $6,300. The release already ended the right to claim more from that insurer.

None of this is improper, and a fast offer isn't always a bad one. After a minor crash with car damage only, a quick settlement can be fair, because the repair estimate, rental and tow can be counted the same week. Injuries are different. In week one, nobody knows the total.

See who pays the bills while you wait

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Who pays the bills while a claim is open

Nobody expects you to sit on hospital bills until a claim settles. Who pays first comes down to your state and the coverage you bought.

  1. In a no-fault state. There are twelve, among them Florida, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Massachusetts. Medical bills there go first to your own personal injury protection, listed as PIP on the policy, no matter who caused the crash.
  2. Everywhere else. The first money may come from optional medical payments coverage on your own auto policy, if you bought it. Look for "MedPay" or "medical payments" on the declarations page. After that, health insurance pays the way it would for any other care.
  3. With Medicare. It can pay for crash-related care when the responsible insurer doesn't pay promptly, but those payments are conditional. Once a settlement comes through, Medicare is entitled to be repaid, so part of the check may already belong to it.
  4. Your own policy's deadlines. Uninsured motorist and medical payments claims have time limits too. They sit in the "duties after an accident or loss" section, which almost nobody reads until a claim gets denied for late notice.

That's the money in the meantime. The article covers the claim itself: what to say and leave out on that first call, three papers not to sign in a hurry and a step-by-step plan for the first 30 days.

See what to say on that first call

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