Recorded Statements Early In A Claim

Shortly after a claim is reported, an adjuster often asks for a recorded statement. The request is routine, the obligation depends on the policy, and the record it creates is permanent.

Why insurers take them

A recorded statement captures the insured's account before memory settles into a narrative and before anyone has had time to reconstruct events from later information.

It also fixes the account, so any later change can be identified and examined, which is a legitimate tool against exaggerated and fabricated claims.

For the great majority of claims the statement is simply an efficient way of gathering facts that would otherwise require several letters.

The obligation is contractual and limited

Most policies require the insured to cooperate with the investigation, and that duty generally extends to giving an account of the loss.

Whether it requires a recorded statement specifically depends on the wording, and some policies expressly provide for recorded statements while others do not.

The duty runs to the insured's own insurer. A request from another party's insurer carries no contractual obligation at all, which is a distinction worth confirming before agreeing.

How it differs from an examination under oath

An examination under oath is a formal proceeding, conducted under oath with a transcript, and it is usually invoked where the insurer has a specific concern.

A recorded statement is informal, unsworn and typically conducted by telephone, often within days of the loss.

The consequences differ accordingly, but an informal statement is still evidence, and inconsistency between it and a later sworn account is where difficulties arise.

The risks are about certainty, not honesty

Most problems come from a truthful person answering with more confidence than the facts support, particularly about speed, distance, time and sequence.

Injury questions are the sharpest example, since symptoms can develop over days, and an early statement that nothing hurt is later used against the claim.

Saying that something is not yet known is an accurate answer and a better one than an estimate that will be treated as an assertion.

Preparing for the request

Reviewing the documented facts beforehand, and asking for a copy or transcript afterwards, are both ordinary requests that insurers routinely accommodate.

Where the claim involves potential liability or serious injury, the decision to give a statement is one on which legal advice is warranted rather than optional.

Cooperation duties, recording rules and consequences of non-compliance vary by jurisdiction and change over time, so the policy wording and local law govern.