The Auto Insurance Medical Authorization Form: What it is and Why the Adjuster Sent You One

You were injured in a car accident and now your insurance adjuster sent you a form called a Medical Authorization.  Not to worry.  It is essentially a form asking for permission to obtain your medical records and bills directly from your healthcare providers following a car accident so the insurer will know what happened to you, what was done about it and how much it cost. Whether your claim is a Medical Payments (Med Pay) claim with your own insurance company, or a Bodily Injury (BI) claim with the other driver’s insurance company, you will likely be asked to sign one.  An authorization letter, which accompanies the form, presented below from the other driver’s insurer, may look something like this:

Dear Mr. Hill,
Enclosed you will find an authorization form which you must sign and return to us as quickly as possible. This will allow us to obtain medical records from your treating health care providers and medical bills incurred as a result of your accident with our insured so we may evaluate your claim in a timely fashion. A return envelope is enclosed.
Thank you very much.

Sincerely,
Jerry Kline, Adjuster

The adjuster needs to obtain copies of your doctors’ notes, the hospital records, prescriptions you may have been given, bills for treatment, and any other documentation related to your injuries in order to investigate your claim and to determine how much to offer you to settle it. In addition to medical documents, the insurance company may also ask you to sign a separate authorization allowing them to request your work records from your employer if you are claiming lost wages.

While an authorization saves you from having to collect this documentation from your healthcare providers yourself, keep in mind that insurance companies do not do this to be nice; they do it to get the necessary information about you to resolve your claim as quickly as possible. One word of caution: Watch the phrasing in the authorization. If, by signing it, you are providing them with the ability to obtain any and all of your medical records, whether related to the accident or not, some of the information could be used against you in negotiating a settlement of your claim.  If you are not sure what the authorization is requesting, you should consult an attorney before signing it. 

Note that if you are unable to reach a settlement of your claim with the insurance company and you eventually file suit against the responsible driver, the other driver’s attorney is likely to subpoena (make a legal demand for) all of your medical records and all of your employment records if there is any reason for them to believe they might be relevant to the evaluation of your case.