Before you speak with an adjuster after a Texas crash, find out whose adjuster it is. Your own insurer expects prompt notice and your help with the claim. The other driver’s insurer is working for the company that would pay you, so it is reasonable to give your name, your insurer and the basic facts, then decline a recorded statement, a broad medical authorization or a release until you have had advice.
The first call can come within days, before you know whether a sore neck is a strain or something that needs surgery. It can sound informal, but what you say is noted. This article is only about that first conversation: who is calling, what each company is entitled to, what to say and hold back, and why a release is a one-way door. Later steps have their own articles, linked below, and the broader claim is on the firm’s Houston car accident page.
The short version
- Ask who the caller works for. The state insurance department describes the adjuster as an employee of whichever company is paying.
- Your own insurer: report the crash promptly and answer its requests; most Texas personal auto policies require your cooperation (committee bill analysis of S.B. 1602, 2021).
- The other driver’s insurer: confirm the basic facts; the statutes read for this article do not require you to give it a recorded statement.
- Words about fault have a price. Texas assigns responsibility in percentages, and a claimant above 50 percent recovers nothing (Civil Practice and Remedies Code §§ 33.001, 33.003).
- A release closes the claim. The state insurance department points claimants to their doctors first, to ask about care they may still need.
Whose adjuster is calling, and why does it matter?
An adjuster is the person an insurance company assigns to a claim, and the Texas Department of Insurance states that the adjuster works for the company paying it. If the call is from your own insurer, you are its customer. If it is from the other driver’s insurer, you are the person making a claim against its customer.
That distinction is the whole difficulty with the first call. The department’s page on working with an adjuster (last updated October 14, 2024) describes the adjuster as the person who reviews the facts and estimates the payment, and who may inspect the damage, read police reports, interview witnesses or request information. Its tips are to collect the adjuster’s contact details and ask when an offer should arrive. Nothing on that page tells a claimant to hand over a recorded account on day one.
Start every call the same way: ask for the adjuster’s full name, the company, a claim number and a callback number, and say you will return the call. Houston television gives similar advice about records. KPRC’s “ENOUGH” segment, published April 14, 2026, tells drivers to phone their own insurer promptly and to keep each estimate, receipt and note from every call about the claim. The firm’s checklist for after a crash covers the scene itself, and its article on bus accident claims covers a different set of insurers.
Do I have to talk to my own insurance company?
In practice, yes. Report the crash to your own insurer promptly and answer its reasonable requests. A committee bill analysis of S.B. 1602 (2021) says most personal auto policies demand cooperation with the insurer, and a Texas statute bars renewal for a policyholder who keeps refusing to help with a liability claim made against them, once written notice has been sent.
The statute is Insurance Code § 551.1053. It covers a private passenger auto insured who will not cooperate with the insurer when someone makes a third-party liability claim or sues. In other words, it concerns claims made against you, not your own claim for injuries. The insurer must first send written notice of how cooperation fell short and that the policy will not renew if it continues; after that it may not renew. The bill analysis for S.B. 1602 is where the point about most policies comes from. The text of your own policy controls what is required of you, so read it or ask for a copy.
The insurance department’s auto guide adds that once you file on your own policy, the company may request a signed proof of loss, further information or a medical examination. Giving your own insurer the facts is not the risky call. The risk lies in what happens to the same words once they are written down and shared, so keep answers short, factual and about things you actually know. Which of your own coverages applies, whether medical payments, injury protection or uninsured motorist benefits, is a separate question, and the firm’s article on whether an insurance claim needs an attorney explains the difference between a claim on your own policy and one against the other driver.
Must I give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement?
None of the Texas statutes read for this article forces an injured person to record a statement for the other driver’s insurer. The cooperation statute read here, Insurance Code § 551.1053, concerns an insured and that insured’s own insurer. A person can postpone a recording until getting advice, because it freezes their words before the injury is understood.
No statute here is a promise that an insurer will not ask, or that refusing is cost-free; it is only that this is not something the cited laws compel. The other driver’s insurer may also hear the facts from its own policyholder, the police report and witnesses. The firm’s article on why witnesses matter after a Houston crash explains how those other accounts enter the file, and why yours does not need to be the first one.
There is a middle path. You can ask the adjuster to put questions in writing, answer them later with help, or say that you will provide a statement once you have seen a doctor and read the crash report. A refusal to record is not a refusal to deal with the claim, and you can say so.
What can I safely say on the first call?
Give your name, contact details, insurer, the date and place of the crash and the vehicles. Say you are still being evaluated. Do not guess at speeds, distances or the cause, do not apologize or call yourself fine, and do not agree to a recording or sign anything. Anything you are unsure of can be answered later.
The table sets out the usual phrases that cause trouble and the rule each touches.
| If you say | What it can do | Where the rule is |
|---|---|---|
| “I’m sorry” or “I never saw her” | Becomes evidence in a fault split; a share over 50 percent bars recovery and a smaller share reduces the award | Civil Practice and Remedies Code §§ 33.001, 33.012(a) |
| “Go ahead and record” | Fixes your account before you have the report or a doctor’s opinion; insurer controls the recording | No statute read for this article compels it for the other driver’s insurer |
| “Send the form and I’ll sign” | A release is a promise of no further claims for the crash; a wide authorization can open unrelated records | Texas Department of Insurance auto guide |
| “The accident was minor” | Pain, mental anguish, impairment and disfigurement count as noneconomic damages and do not show up in the first bill | Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.001(12) |
Sources: Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Chapter 33, Chapter 41, and the TDI auto insurance guide above; read October 16, 2026.
Section 33.003(a) has the judge or jury put a percentage on each claimant and defendant, which is why an offhand remark about not looking can come back. The firm’s article on answering comparative negligence in Texas claims shows how those arguments are met; the dollar side is in how a Houston crash claim is valued.
What should I do about a medical authorization or records request?
Read what the form covers before signing. A document allowing release of every record from every provider for an open-ended period gives an insurer far more than the records of this injury. You can ask the adjuster to say in writing which records it needs, or have your attorney send the relevant ones.
An adjuster may say the form is routine. It may be, but its scope is yours to check: which providers, which dates, and for what purpose. The firm has a separate article on whether you must share medical records with an adjuster, so this section only flags the point that matters for the first call, which is not to sign on the spot.
Getting your own records is a different step from signing the insurer’s form. Harris Health’s medical records page lets patients ask for their records by form, by written request or in person, and says complete information helps it send them within 15 business days, with a possible charge for printed copies.
Why does the adjuster want to settle so quickly?
An early settlement is reached before the claim’s full size is known. In the first days you may not know the treatment you will need, the work you will miss or whether symptoms will last, and a release signed then covers all of it, including what you could not yet see.
The state insurance department’s auto guide describes this moment. When another driver caused the crash, that driver’s insurer offers a payment toward medical bills and requests a signed release that bars further claims for the accident; the department’s advice is to ask your doctor about future treatment before signing. The same guide says the prompt-payment law does not reach a claim paid by the other driver’s insurer, which must still act in good faith.
An early offer reflects the bills received so far, while Texas law counts more: § 41.001(12) puts physical pain, mental anguish, disfigurement and impairment among noneconomic damages. If a claim is not resolved, suit generally must be filed within two years of accrual (Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003(a)). The pace of a case is covered in how long a Texas injury case takes, and the filing deadline in a Fort Bend crash works the same way; a claimant who feels ignored can read the firm’s article on what to do when an insurer stalls.
What changes once an attorney is involved?
You can consult a lawyer before returning the adjuster’s call, and your confidential communications with the lawyer made to get legal services are generally privileged. The Texas Rules of Evidence let a client refuse to disclose such communications; the people the rule lists do not include an adjuster. The attorney can then take over the contact.
The privilege is in Rule 503(b)(1), covering confidential communications between client and lawyer made to facilitate legal services. Rule 408 protects less: conduct or statements during compromise negotiations cannot be used to prove or disprove a disputed claim or its amount, although a court may allow them for another purpose. It speaks of negotiations, so a casual first-day account of the crash is not obviously covered by it.
A lawyer can also help with the questions an adjuster does not raise, including which policies apply and whether the crash involved a commercial vehicle, a rideshare driver or a motorcycle. The firm handles 18-wheeler cases (where several policies may apply), rideshare claims, crashes with an Uber driver, motorcycle crashes, pedestrian injuries and other injury claims in Houston; each raises insurance questions that a first phone call will not answer. Residents of nearby Fort Bend County will find similar guidance in the article with tips for a successful insurance claim, and a driver who left the scene changes the call entirely (see the hit-and-run page).
If an adjuster has already called, write down who said what before you return the call; describing the crash in a message is another way to get a second view first. Before deciding, read what a Houston accident lawyer costs and questions to ask a personal injury attorney.
Frequently asked questions
What is a recorded statement for insurance?
It is a question-and-answer session between you and an adjuster that is recorded and kept in the claim file. Unlike a conversation, it is a verbatim record of your words, taken at a time chosen by the insurer, often before you have the crash report or medical answers.
What should I say if I do give a recorded statement?
Facts only: who, when and where, the vehicles, and what you personally saw and did. Say “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember” when that is true, ask for a pause to check records, and do not estimate speeds, distances or injuries. Some people have an attorney present or review the questions first.
How do I deal with an insurance adjuster after a car accident?
Get the adjuster’s name, company, claim number and callback number, keep notes of every call, ask for requests in writing, send documents by a method that leaves a record, and do not sign a release or broad authorization until you understand it and have talked with your doctor about future care.
What if the other driver will not tell me who their insurer is?
The insurance department’s guide says to call the police if the other driver will not name the company. Under Transportation Code § 550.023, a driver in a collision with injuries must give the injured person the name of the driver’s liability insurer.
Can I reopen my claim after I sign a release?
A release is a promise not to pursue more claims for the crash, which is why the insurance department suggests asking your doctor about future care first. Whether a particular release can be set aside is a legal question for an attorney, and an answer is rarely simple.
Is it too late to get an attorney if I already gave a statement?
No. Tell the attorney what you said, to whom and when, and hand over any recording, transcript or email you were sent. An early statement is one piece of evidence among many, alongside the crash report, photographs, witnesses and medical records.
About the authors
Sam A. Maida, Jr.
Owner and Managing Attorney
Sam A. Maida, Jr. has represented injured Texans in the greater Houston area since the firm opened in 1993.
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Bernard G. Johnson III
Litigation Managing Attorney
Bernard G. Johnson III is a board certified trial lawyer licensed in Texas since 1996 and a graduate of South Texas College of Law.