Giving a recorded statement after a crash

What a recorded statement is for

An adjuster asks you questions about the crash and records the answers, usually on a phone call. The recording becomes part of the claim file. Adjusters use it to decide coverage and fault and to compare your account with the other driver's, the witnesses' and the police report. The California Department of Insurance's accident guide notes that an insurer may take a written or recorded statement as part of its investigation and may contact the other drivers and witnesses too.

The questions are predictable: who was driving and why, where you were going, the weather and the light, your speed, the lanes and signals, what you saw before the impact, what was said afterward, and any injuries. Because the record lasts, a guess about speed or distance can be quoted back to you months later.

Your own insurer can require it

Part E of the standard personal auto policy says a person seeking coverage must cooperate with the insurer in the investigation, settlement or defense of any claim or suit. A recorded statement is a normal part of that investigation. The same part lets the insurer require you to submit to an examination under oath, as often as it reasonably requires, and sign it. The California guide mentions that an examination under oath can sometimes be requested.

Refusing can cost you. Under the standard form, the insurer has no duty to provide coverage when your failure to meet these duties is prejudicial to it. Cooperation also protects you if the other driver claims against you: your insurer defends you under Part A, and it needs your account to do so. Your own policy's wording, and your state's law, decide exactly what is required. The full list of policy duties is in how a car insurance claim works.

The other driver's insurer is different

When you claim against another driver's liability insurance, you are a third-party claimant. You have no policy with that company, so the cooperation clause in its contract binds its customer, not you. As a general rule you are not obliged to give it a recorded statement. That company still has to decide fault, though, and without your account it may wait for the police report or decline to accept liability.

The California guide also advises not to give statements or discuss the accident with anyone except a verified representative of your own company. A middle path many people take with the other insurer is a brief written statement of the facts, sent by email with photos and the police report number. How the two kinds of claim differ is in first-party vs. third-party claims.

• If they are claiming against you, not the other way round, refer the other insurer to your own. Your insurer handles that claim and defends you, and it should hear your account first.
• If you are hurt, the other insurer may send a medical authorization form. Read it before you sign; you can ask to limit it to records related to the crash and to a set period.
• If you have a lawyer, tell the insurer in writing to send its questions to the lawyer.

How to prepare

1. Confirm who is calling. Get the name, the company, whether they represent your insurer or the other driver's, and the claim number. Call back through the number on the insurer's website if you are unsure.
2. Ask to schedule it for a time when you have your notes in front of you, rather than answering on the spot.
3. Gather your record: your notes from the day, photos, the police report number, the other driver's details and the names of witnesses.
4. Write a timeline of the minute before and after the crash, in plain sentences, so your account comes out the same way each time.
5. Decide what you won't guess about. If you don't know the speed or distance, say so; estimates become facts once they are on tape.

What to collect at the scene so you have this record is in documenting car accident damage.

During and after the call

• Answer the question asked, then stop. Short answers leave less room for misreading.
• Describe, don't conclude. Say what you saw ("the light was green for me"), not who was at fault.
• On injuries, be exact. Say what you feel today and whether you have seen a doctor; don't say you are fine if you haven't been checked.
• Correct mistakes at once, on the recording, and again by email afterward.
• Ask for a copy of the recording or a transcript. The insurer may or may not provide one, but the request goes in the file.

Questions people ask