Practice areas / Car accidents
Car accident claims
the 14-day clock, the coverage nobody carries, and your own policy
The other driver's insurer may ask for a recorded statement within days of a crash. What you say can become evidence in the claim. Before agreeing, know which carrier is calling and what your own policy requires.
Florida car claims usually involve 2 sources of coverage: no-fault benefits under your own policy and the liability claim against the at-fault driver. Both depend on prompt treatment, available coverage, and early evidence.
What Florida law actually says
Florida is a no-fault state. Your own PIP pays 80% of medical bills up to $10,000, and only if treatment starts within 14 days of the crash (Fla. Stat. 627.736).
Suing the at-fault driver for pain and suffering generally requires a significant and permanent injury, permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death.
Fault is divided by percentage. Your recovery shrinks by your share, and in most negligence cases it disappears past half.
What gets secured first
The crash report against the physical damage, because the boxes an officer checked at the scene are not the last word on fault
The vehicles' event data recorders, downloaded before repair or salvage erases them
Your own declarations page, for the uninsured motorist and stacking coverage nobody remembers buying
Medical records from the first visit forward, because the gap between crash and treatment is the argument the defense will build
Asked in the first phone call
Should I give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement?
Not before you have talked to a lawyer. You are not required to give one to the other side's carrier. Your own carrier is different, because your policy's cooperation clause usually does require one. Knowing which call is which matters.
I felt fine at the scene. Now I do not.
Common, and exactly why the 14-day window is dangerous. Adrenaline masks injuries. Get evaluated now, for your health first and because Florida ties your no-fault benefits to that clock.
The other driver has no insurance.
Then the question is your own policy. Uninsured motorist coverage exists for precisely this, and Florida produces a lot of these moments. Bring your declarations page to the consultation.
Nothing on this site is legal advice. The deadlines and standards described here are general, they have exceptions, and they change. Florida rewrote several of them in 2023. Do not use this site to calculate your own deadline.