How can I make sure the insurance company knows I changed lawyers for my car accident claim?

Make the Change Clear and Claim-Specific

Insurance companies may maintain a separate electronic file for each accident, injured person, and type of claim. A general statement that you “changed lawyers” may create confusion, especially when the former firm continues to represent you or a family member in other matters.

The notice should identify the exact claim affected by the change. It should include:

• Your full name and contact information.
• The insurance claim number, if available.
• The date and location of the car accident.
• The names of the drivers or insured parties associated with the claim.
• A statement that the former firm’s authority has ended only for this identified accident claim.
• The name, address, telephone number, and email address of the new lawyer or law firm.
• Your signature and the date.

If another claim involves your child, identify which claimant and accident are affected without suggesting that the former firm has withdrawn from the child’s matter. The same care is important when you have multiple accidents involving the same insurer. Dates of loss, claim numbers, and claimant names help prevent the insurer from changing the wrong file.

Use More Than One Written Notice

The clearest approach usually involves coordinated documents from everyone concerned:

1. Your signed direction: State that the former firm is no longer authorized to represent you for the specified car accident claim and direct future communications about that claim to your new lawyer.
2. The former firm’s withdrawal confirmation: Keep a copy of any letter or email showing that the former firm notified the insurer of the limited withdrawal.
3. The new lawyer’s letter of representation: This should identify the claim, explain the scope of the new representation, and ask the insurer to update its records.

Send the documents to the assigned adjuster using a method that creates a record, such as email, a claims portal, or tracked mail. Save the sent email, delivery confirmation, uploaded document receipt, and any response. If the insurer has separate adjusters for bodily injury and property damage, confirm which portions of the claim the new lawyer is handling.

Ask the Insurer to Confirm the Update

Do not rely only on proof that a letter was sent. Ask the adjuster to confirm in writing that the new lawyer has been entered as counsel for the correct claimant and claim number. The confirmation should also indicate where future correspondence will be sent.

Your new lawyer can check whether the insurer has updated:

• The attorney contact information.
• The mailing and email addresses for claim correspondence.
• Any authorization to communicate with the former firm.
• The intended recipients or payees for any future settlement paperwork or check.
• Every applicable coverage file connected to the accident.

If the adjuster continues communicating with the former firm, resend the notice and ask that the issue be elevated to a claims supervisor. Keep the correction factual and limited to the claim at issue.

Protect the File During the Transition

Changing lawyers does not automatically transfer the documents needed to handle the claim. Your new lawyer may need the crash report, photographs, witness information, medical records and bills, insurance correspondence, recorded statements, prior demands, offers, and signed authorizations from the former firm.

Keep your own copies when possible. Also provide the new lawyer with any declarations pages, denial letters, claim-status letters, and messages from adjusters. Medical records and bills are often central to documenting injury-related losses, so the transition should account for records already ordered or received.

Review the former fee agreement and any closing communication from the prior firm. Depending on the agreement and work completed, questions may remain about expenses or attorney fees. Those issues should be identified early so they do not unexpectedly delay the handling or distribution of a later recovery.

Be Careful With Releases and Settlement Documents

Tell the new lawyer immediately if an offer, release, check, or settlement document arrives during the transition. A broadly written release may affect more than the bodily injury portion of a claim, including unresolved property damage or other losses. It should be reviewed in light of the exact claims and parties it identifies.

When multiple accidents or family members are involved, confirm that every document uses the correct accident date, claimant, claim number, and scope. Do not assume paperwork belongs to the newly transferred matter merely because it came from the same insurer.

Changing Lawyers Does Not Pause a Filing Deadline

North Carolina generally provides a three-year period for many personal injury actions under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52, although the correct deadline depends on the facts and type of claim. Negotiations, representation notices, and an adjuster’s acknowledgment do not automatically extend the time to file a lawsuit.

The new lawyer should independently calculate and confirm every applicable deadline. Separate claims, including a child’s claim or a claim arising from a different accident, may require separate deadline reviews.

How This Applies When the Former Firm Still Handles Other Claims

Here, the main risk is not simply that the insurer missed a withdrawal letter. The insurer may see the former firm’s valid representation notices for the other accidents and assume the firm still handles every matter.

A narrow written correction should identify the recent car accident that moved to new counsel while expressly stating that it does not change the former firm’s role in the separate matters, including the child’s claim. The new lawyer can then ask the insurer to confirm the update using the specific claim number and accident date. This creates a clearer record than relying on a general withdrawal notice.