Should I Provide a Recorded Statement to the Insurance Company?

The other driver’s insurance company will usually contact you very quickly after the accident and tell you that you must provide a recorded statement. The adjusters assigned to handle the claims say that they need the statement in order to consider the property damage claims, the personal injuries and even to open a claim.

You do not have to provide a recorded statement and it is recommended that you don’t. The insurance company will ask questions about the accident or your injuries which can be vague and misleading. You may inadvertently answer those questions unfavorably to your case allowing the insurance company to later use that information against you. A common example is the adjuster will ask you whether you were injured and how you feel. The full extent of injuries sustained in motor vehicle collisions are typically not realized until days following the trauma. Clients feel their best and do not feel the effects of the accident at the time of the collision or even on the day of the collision. Depending on the extent of the injuries, the injuries start to set in the next day, or even several days after the accident.

Therefore, when the adjuster from the insurance company asks about the injuries, most people will answer that they are fine, when in fact they are not. The insurance company will later defend the case by using that statement against the victim who actually was more significantly hurt and did not know it. Until a doctor examines you, you do not know the extent of your injuries and how long it will take to recover.

It is human nature in these instances to want to cooperate and be helpful to the other driver’s insurance company. Because of this, most people tend to provide too much information in an effort to appear cooperative and helpful. Adjusters also ask questions which are not relevant to establishing liability in this claim. This can lead to providing unnecessary information which can hurt your case and your credibility. For instance, the adjuster may ask you about any other accidents.

Whether you were involved in any other accidents has nothing to do with whether their insured is liable in this accident. Furthermore, they will then research your past claims and if you forgot about an accident because it was a long time ago and you do not mention it, later it will be suggested that you were not truthful and your credibility will be impeached.

The insurance company will compare everything you say to them in a recorded statement against everything you say later, the witnesses’ statements and against all of the evidence and documents they obtain in the case. Then they will look for every inconsistency to try to use that against you

Lastly, they do not need your statement. Insurance companies order and obtain copies of the police accident report which contains the information they need to handle a claim. They do not need your statement as well. They would like your statement in order to obtain information that may help them defend their case.

Thus, although the insurance company may accept liability over the telephone, it is not put in writing for this reason. They represent their insured, they do not represent you. They are a business which is in business in order to make a profit and must therefore minimize their payment of claims. All insurance companies, including your own, will act in their best interest first.

When negotiating a property damage claim, the insurance company has one goal, to minimize its payout and to promptly close the file. It is not the role of your insurance company to act as an advocate to pursue the maximum recovery from the responsible party on your behalf. That is my job. I seek to recover for you every category of damages that applies to your case to make sure that you sustain no losses, are fully protected and are made whole again.

Studies conducted by insurance companies found that accident victims recover at least two-and-a-half times more for their auto accident case if they are represented by a personal injury attorney. The at-fault driver’s insurance company has no duty to explain your legal rights to you or to protect those rights. In many cases, they do not even understand your legal rights. They are in the business of protecting their insured and maximizing their profits by paying as little as possible on personal injury claims. Often just the threat of going to trial and winning against the insurance company can increase the value of your case.