Steps to Take on a New Jersey Accident Insurance Claim

Attorney Answer

Start with your own insurer, get the treatment documented, and put nothing in writing to the other side until you understand what you are signing — and keep one eye on the lawsuit deadline while the claim is being negotiated.

The risk in a claim like yours is not usually the insurer refusing outright. It is time. N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 sets a two-year limitations period for personal injury actions, and it keeps running while you negotiate. An adjuster who is slow, or who keeps asking for one more record, is not extending your deadline, and no insurer is obligated to warn you that it is approaching. Claims are lost this way every year.

Because you have not described how the accident happened, who was at fault, or what injuries you have, the rest of this is the sequence that applies to almost any New Jersey accident claim.

What you can do

1. Report the accident to your own auto insurer now, if you have not. In New Jersey your own policy generally pays the medical bills first through no-fault benefits, regardless of who was at fault. 2. Get medical care and make sure the record says how the injury happened. Gaps in treatment are the most common reason a claim is devalued. 3. Open a claim with the at-fault party's insurer and get the claim number, the adjuster's name, and their direct contact. 4. Collect and keep: the police report, photographs of the vehicles and the scene, witness names and numbers, every bill and receipt, and written proof of lost wages from your employer. 5. Do not give a recorded statement, sign a general medical authorization, or sign any release until someone who is on your side has read it. A release ends the claim permanently, including care you need later. 6. Read your own declarations page for personal injury protection limits, medical payments, collision, and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. People routinely have coverage they never claim. 7. Keep a dated log of every call and letter with each insurer. 8. Have a New Jersey attorney review it well before the two-year mark, not near it. Most injury lawyers review at no charge.

⏱ Time limits apply. N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 sets the two-year period for the personal injury lawsuit, and it continues to run while the insurance claim is open. When it started depends on your specific facts.