My daughter caused a bad crash — what does she actually need to do now?

I was the at-fault driver in a rear-end collision a couple years ago and I had the exact same questions. The short answer — your insurer's job is to defend her up to her policy limits. That's literally what the premium pays for. They'll assign a defense attorney if a lawsuit gets filed, at no cost to her. The scary part is if damages exceed her limits, that's when personal exposure becomes real. Make sure she doesn't give recorded statements to anyone without at least talking to someone first.

That 'weirdly friendly' adjuster? Yeah, that's a tactic. They want everyone cooperative and chatty before anyone lawyers up. Your daughter should be polite but careful — she doesn't have to volunteer information beyond what's required by the policy. Read the actual policy document to understand what her cooperation obligations are versus what's just them fishing.

I worked claims for years. The other driver having an attorney actually helps clarify things — it formalizes the process and takes the chaos out of it. What you need to watch is whether your daughter's liability limits are going to be enough to cover everything. If the injuries are serious, her insurer will be negotiating hard to settle within limits. If they can't, and there's a gap, that's when you want a personal attorney for her — not to fight the other driver, but to protect her personal assets. It's worth a free consult now just to understand the risk landscape.

Not legal advice, but this is a situation where a brief consult with a personal injury defense attorney — separate from whoever your insurer assigns — is worth it. When the other party already has representation, the dynamics shift quickly. An independent attorney can review her policy, explain excess judgment exposure, and tell her whether she actually needs ongoing help or can just let the insurer handle it. Many do free consults. It's just information gathering at this point.

A couple of practical things to flag: First, make sure your daughter keeps a written log of every single call with the insurance company — date, time, who she spoke to, what was said. Second, if a demand letter or lawsuit papers show up, they need to go to the insurer immediately — like same day. Missing a response deadline is one of the ways people accidentally create bigger problems. The insurer should be handling the defense, but staying organized on your end protects everyone.

Bottom line: her insurance handles this, that's what it's for. Let them. Don't let her post about it on social media, don't let her reach out to the other driver directly, and don't give recorded statements without knowing what's in her policy first. If the claim looks like it might blow past her limits, get an independent consult fast. Everything else is noise right now.