Because most car accident claims for compensation settle out of court, making a claim to your own insurance company or to a third party insurer is a standard practice in the aftermath of a car accident.
A common tactic that insurance carriers use when you reach out to them is to ask you to make a recorded statement about the accident. There may be some situations when you may agree to make such a statement, but before you do it is important to understand why insurers ask for them and several risks to you in how they use them.
At Stone Rose Law we represent people who have been in car accidents in Arizona. Before you agree to make a recorded statement, we encourage you to review the information we provide here and to call us at (480) 631-3025 or reach out to us online to discuss your options before making any statement. We can help you to know whether it is in your interest to make a recorded statement or to decline to do so.
What is a Recorded Statement?
Before an insurance company agrees to pay out on a claim, it will investigate the facts of the accident. A recorded statement is an information gathering and preservation tool for insurers that they seek to use as part of their overall claim investigation.
Recorded statements are not required by Arizona statute, but some insurance policies include cooperation clauses that may require reasonable participation in a claim investigation. Their primary goals are to help the insurance company decide who is at fault for the accident, whether to pay out or deny a claim, and how much a claim may be worth.
What is the Purpose of a Recorded Statement?
Although a recorded statement can serve investigative purposes, it carries some potential risks for you that are important for you to know about before you agree to make one. This is because the insurance company can use your recorded statement as more than a reasonable request for fact-gathering but not tell you what its real reasons are for asking you to make one.
In the same way that you are not legally obligated to give a recorded statement, insurers are not legally required to tell you the uses for your statement. A simple truth in many cases is that the underlying purpose of a recorded statement is to give the insurance company potential strategic advantages over you when it comes to negotiating your claim by potentially using your own words against you.
After an accident, you may give formal statements to people like police officers, doctors, or witnesses. Any insurance company will review the detailed information in these statements and compare them to your recorded statement. Any inconsistency between your recorded statement and other statements you make can be used to undermine your claim by admitting fault, challenging your recollection of events, or even calling your honesty into question.
Think Carefully Before Agreeing to Make a Recorded Statement
If a police officer arrests you, that officer must inform you of certain legal rights you have under the U.S. Constitution before subjecting you to a custodial interrogation. One of these rights is your right to remain silent, because “Anything you say can and may be used against you in a court of law.”
It is a good idea from the beginning to think of making a recorded statement in the same way: anything you say can be used against you later in the claim process. The difference is, unlike the police officer reading you your Miranda rights, the claim adjuster who asks you to make a recorded statement has no obligation to tell you about this potential trap.
To take this comparison a little further, when a police officer arrests you, that officer has already decided that reasonable suspicion and probable cause exist that you have done something to warrant the arrest. Thus, the questions that officer asks you will often be designed to get you to make statements that incriminate yourself.
In a similar way, insurance adjusters are like police officers: they work for an insurance company that has an interest in saving money by denying or minimizing payouts on claims, and they are trained to ask you questions that get you to unknowingly say something against your own interest.
In this sense, a recorded statement is like a pretrial deposition in a legal matter: although it is not sworn testimony like a deposition, a recorded statement can still be used to challenge your credibility or as an admission of fault by you.
What Kinds of Questions Do Insurance Adjusters Typically Ask?
A recorded statement is not a free form exercise in which you are allowed to just say what you remember about the accident. These statements usually take the form of leading questions, with each question intended to open the door for you to make inadvertent admissions or mistakes, including:
- Admitting fault – or comparative fault
- Casting doubt about your recollection of the facts of the accident through memory lapses
- Inconsistencies in your description of the events of the accident
- Whether you were engaging in distracted driving
- Any delay you may have made in seeking medical attention after the accident or to otherwise downplay your injuries
- Whether you have any pre-existing conditions that can be the cause of injuries you claim are the result from the accident
- Descriptions of the damage to your vehicle that can be used to downplay the extent or severity of your injury(ies)
During the recorded statement questioning the adjuster may take a neutral or even a friendly tone with you, and tell you that the reason for the statement is to give you a chance to tell your side of the story or to gather some additional details (again, similar tactics are used by law enforcement). But you should not let yourself be lulled into thinking that the purpose of the statement is to benefit you or to help you maximize your claim’s value. Its purpose is to benefit the insurance company – not you.
When Might I Agree to Make a Recorded Statement?
Many insurance policies have what is known as a “cooperation clause” in them. This provision requires you to assist your insurance company when it makes a claim investigation, including providing statements and/or other evidence.
A cooperation clause may require you to provide a recorded or oral statement if reasonably requested as part of a claim investigation, and refusal can create coverage issues if it materially prejudices the insurer and even denial of your claim.
If your policy contains a cooperation clause, then at Stone Rose Law we recommend that you consider once more the Miranda rights comparisons we made above: you can have an attorney present with you when you are making your recorded statement. An experienced insurance claims attorney can give you real time guidance when answering questions during a recorded statement. This can help you to avoid pitfalls in giving your answers.
At the very least, consulting with one of our insurance claim lawyers can prepare you for the kinds of questions you can expect to be asked. It will also inform you of how you should approach the recorded statement before it begins, which can potentially help you avoid making any statements against your own interests.
Why Might I Refuse to Make a Recorded Statement?
Especially when you are making a claim against the other driver’s insurance company, it may be in your best interest to politely decline an invitation to make a recorded statement. You can be reasonably certain that anyone you talk with at the other driver’s insurer will not have your best interests in mind when communicating with you, yet they will still want you to make a recorded statement.
You generally have no legal obligation to provide a recorded statement to a third-party insurer, and doing so often carries risk. Remember: you have no obligation to make a recorded statement to a third-party insurance company.
How Should You Decline to Make a Recorded Statement?
When declining to make a recorded statement you should be polite, clear, and firm. For example, you might say to a claims adjuster, “Thank you for your request, but I do not believe it is in my best interest to provide a recorded statement at this time. I will be willing to provide any relevant documentation or information in writing.”
If you already have an attorney to provide legal representation, then mention to the adjuster that you want to speak with your attorney before making any kind of verbal statement or written statement. This should heed off any attempt by the adjuster to keep pressuring you to provide a statement.
If the adjuster persists in asking for a recorded statement from you, stay calm and polite, but do not waver in your refusal. Restate that you are not comfortable providing a recorded statement and that you are willing to assist through other means, such as by answering questions in writing. Written responses give you more time to carefully consider your responses and to consult with your attorney before answering them.
You do not need to explain in detail your refusal to make a recorded statement, beyond saying that there are already other records available like police reports, medical records, and witness statements that should be enough for the insurer’s investigation. Then politely end your conversation with the adjuster.
What Should You Do After Declining to Make a Recorded Statement?
Once you have made it clear that you will not be making a recorded statement, you can proceed with taking steps to bolster your claim for insurance compensation. This includes:
- Gathering documentary and physical evidence
- Seeking medical treatment and complying with any treatment plan you are given
- Avoiding posts on social media or engaging in activities that could be construed as inconsistent with your injuries
- Contacting an experienced Arizona personal injury lawyer for legal guidance
Call Stone Rose Law Before Making a Recorded Statement
After you suffer a personal injury of any kind, like an automobile accident, slip-and-fall accident, or a medical malpractice or hospital negligence claim, any insurance company – your own insurer, or anyone else’s – is going to have a basic conflict of interest with you.
Your interest is going to be to receive the maximum value to help you recover from your injuries and to compensate you for any property damage you may have incurred. The insurer’s interest is to keep settlement payouts as low as possible, or even deny your claim outright.
Because of this inherent conflict of interest, you should always be cautious when you are asked to make a recorded statement. Hiring a Stone Rose Law Arizona personal injury attorney for legal representation can protect you and ensure that any insurance settlement you receive gives you fair compensation.
Call us at (480) 631-3025 to speak with one of our experienced attorneys before giving any recorded statement to an insurer. You can also use our online contact form to communicate with us and to schedule a free consultation.
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