At-fault driver's insurance asking for my health insurance info — why??

This is a classic move and you should be really careful. Insurance companies — even the at-fault driver's — love to find other pockets to pull from. If you had health insurance, they'd try to get your health plan to pay first, then they'd factor that into any settlement math in a way that often benefits them more than you. The fact that you don't have health coverage isn't something you necessarily need to hand over in a formal document right away. I'd pump the brakes before responding.

I used to work on the claims side and I can tell you exactly what's happening here. It's called "coordination of benefits" — insurers are trained to ask for your health insurance as a matter of routine because if your health plan pays the bills first, the liability insurer's exposure shrinks. It's not necessarily sinister, it's just standard process. That said, if you don't have health coverage, you simply tell them that. You're not obligated to go dig up a policy that doesn't exist. Just be straightforward and say you're currently uninsured for health. Don't overthink it, but also don't sign any blanket medical release forms they might slip in with that request.

A couple of things worth knowing: first, you generally don't want to be settling or wrapping anything up with the liability insurer until you're done with treatment — because once you sign a release, that's it. Second, if you don't have health insurance, some medical providers will treat accident patients and wait for payment until the claim resolves (called a "lien"). It's worth asking your providers about that. And honestly, given that bills are already stacking up and you haven't finished treatment, talking to a personal injury attorney sooner rather than later isn't a bad idea — most do free consultations and work on contingency.

This happened to me too after my accident. I was so confused why the other guy's insurance cared about MY health coverage. Turns out they just want to minimize what they pay out. I didn't have great insurance at the time either and honestly I wish I had talked to an attorney before I responded to anything. I answered a bunch of their questions on my own thinking I was being cooperative and it kind of bit me later.

Please make sure you're following up with that specialist referral regardless of what's happening with insurance. Neck injuries from rear-end collisions can seem manageable at first and then get significantly worse over weeks. Document every symptom, every appointment, every medication. That paper trail matters both for your health and for your claim.

Not legal advice, but I'll say this: you are under no obligation to provide a recorded statement or sign broad medical authorizations for the at-fault party's insurer. Asking for health insurance info is routine, but how you respond — and what else you agree to in the process — matters. If bills are accumulating and treatment isn't finished, this is exactly the situation where a free consultation with a PI attorney could save you from making an inadvertent mistake. Most people don't realize how early decisions shape the whole claim.

Short answer: tell them you don't have health insurance and leave it at that. Don't send documents, don't sign releases, don't give a recorded statement. And do not settle anything until you are completely done with treatment and know the full picture of your bills and any lasting issues. That's the most important thing people get wrong — they settle too early.

This sounds so stressful on top of already recovering from the accident. Please don't try to navigate all of this alone — it sounds like the insurance stuff is getting complicated fast and you deserve to have someone in your corner who actually understands how this works.