After an accident and filing an insurance claim, you might be contacted by the insurance company, which asks if you will provide a recorded statement. If this has happened to you, reach out to our personal injury lawyers at Caruso Law Offices, as this indicates that you may need legal help.
Am I Required to Give a Recorded Statement to an Insurance Company?
As a preliminary matter, you should know whether you are actually required to give a recorded statement to an insurance company. Generally, there is no such requirement when you are dealing with a third-party insurer. For example, if you are injured in a car accident that was caused by another driver’s negligence and you file a claim with their liability insurance, you are under no obligation to provide their insurance company with a recorded statement. You can contact our car accident lawyers today if you were injured in a car accident.
However, if you are filing an insurance claim with your own insurance provider, you may be required to give such a statement pursuant to a cooperation clause in your insurance policy. Still, you can generally consult with an attorney and have your attorney’s assistance if you provide a recorded statement.
How Insurance Companies Use Recorded Statements Against Claimants
The first thing you should understand about insurance companies when they are dealing with a claim is that their goal is to minimize the value of the claim as much as possible (even to $0 if they can make that happen). Insurance companies are for-profit companies. They stay so rich by charging more in premiums than they pay out in claims year after year. Insurance adjusters work for these companies, so even if they act like they are your friend, they are not. Their objective is the opposite of yours: You want to recover as much financial compensation as possible, while they want to give you as little money as possible.
Requesting a recorded statement is just one way that insurance companies will try to minimize the value of your claim. They do this by:
- Getting you to say innocent-sounding statements like “I’m fine” or getting you to agree that it’s good you were not seriously injured to argue that your injuries are not as serious as you claim
- Interviewing you while you are in the hospital or under the influence of medicine, so you don’t even know what you’re saying
- Trying to get you to agree to settle the claim before you have a good understanding of the value of your claim
- Attempting to get evidence that could minimize your ability to obtain fair compensation, such as getting you to admit to causing or contributing to the accident or saying something that contradicts the official findings in the accident
- Asking leading questions to lock in inconsistent statements that can be used to challenge your credibility
Rather than agreeing to a recorded statement, you can refer the insurance adjuster to your personal injury lawyer.
Contact Our Personal Injury Lawyers Today for Help with Your Insurance Claim
At Caruso Law Offices, P.C., we are dedicated to protecting the rights of the injured. We know the tactics insurance companies play to attempt to reduce the value of insurance claims, and we are here to protect you against them. Call us at (505) 393-3992 or contact us online to request a free, no-obligation consultation. We can explain more about how we can help and deal with the insurance company on your behalf.