Should You Talk to the Insurance Company After a Car Accident in Oregon?
Table of Contents Do You Have to Speak with the Insurance Company? Why Insurance Adjusters Ask Questions Early How Your Statements Can Affect Fault What You Can Safely Share Steps to Protect Yourself When Dealing with Insurance What to Do Next After Speaking with Insurance After a car accident, one of the first calls you […]
These articles cover the insurance side of an Oregon injury claim: which insurers are involved, what they are entitled to ask you, and what you can decline.
After a crash, two kinds of insurer usually call. Your own auto insurer owes you the benefits in your policy: personal injury protection, which pays at least $15,000 in medical bills for one year regardless of fault (ORS 742.520 to 742.524), and uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage when the other driver has no insurance or too little. The at-fault driver’s insurer owes you nothing until fault and damages are shown, and its adjuster’s job is to close the claim for as little as possible. You do not have to give that insurer a recorded statement or sign its medical authorization, and talking with an adjuster does not stop the two-year deadline to file suit (ORS 12.110).
Oregon’s comparative fault rule (ORS 31.600) is where most of those conversations go: every point of blame the adjuster can assign to you lowers the claim, and above 50 percent it ends it. A signed release closes the claim for good, including injuries that turn out worse than expected. The articles here explain how to handle those calls and when to bring in a Bend attorney. For a free consultation about an insurance claim after an injury anywhere in Oregon, call 541-948-8830.