No. No law requires you to offer a recorded statement to an at-fault party’s insurance company. When you talk to an insurance adjuster, only give basic information and avoid making statements about what happened that may be used against you later.
After a frightening accident and perhaps a painful injury, you will likely get a call from the insurance company representing the individual or business that caused your accident. Those representatives will be asking for a recorded statement, but you should think twice before speaking while on the record.
Dangers to Avoid When Speaking to an Insurance Company
After an accident, it’s natural to want to be helpful when an insurance company calls. You may have suffered an injury in a traffic collision or after a fall at a grocery store. You may be struggling to find money to pay hospital bills and car repair costs. Being cooperative with an insurer may seem like the best way to get insurance support faster. But beware.
Insurance adjusters will be calling you after your accident. It’ll appear that they want to help, but that’s not always the case. When car repair bills and hospital invoices are expensive, they often work as hard as they can to avoid having to take the blame. They may look for ways to blame you for an accident or try to question how badly you are hurt.
If they can get you to make a recorded statement about the accident, they can confuse you and then twist your words later to help weaken your case.
If the at-fault party’s insurance company asks for a statement, you can politely decline. If your own insurance company asks for a statement, you can also decline. You should also avoid talking to the other people involved in your accident, like an at-fault driver, at the scene. You don’t owe them a statement.
When speaking to insurance representatives or the at-fault party, avoid giving statements and making these comments:
- Don’t say “my bad” or admit fault. You may feel you were partially to blame in an accident and find out later that you did nothing wrong. If you make statements that make it sound like you accept blame, an insurance company will definitely bring that up later to try to lay all the fault on you.
- Don’t say you’re alright. An insurer can twist this later to mean that you aren’t hurt at all. That may not be true, even if you feel no pain after an accident. The shock of what’s happened can mask the pain from a serious injury until a day or two later. Don’t comment on your health until you’ve seen your own doctor and had an examination.
Having a skilled California Personal Injury Lawyer on your side is an invaluable safeguard for your case. Your lawyer fully investigates what happened to you and collects all evidence. When insurance companies attempt their usual tactics, your lawyer fights back and makes sure they provide the maximum compensation possible for your recovery.
Holding Insurance Companies Accountable
Insurance companies will talk a lot about what you owe them, especially when your monthly premium comes due.
But California insurance companies also owe you fair treatment after an accident. The California Department of Insurance details how insurance companies should respond and treat you after an accident.
- After filing an Accident. A claim representative should contact you soon after an accident. In fact, insurers are required to contact you within 15 days. The Department of Insurance recommends calling your own insurance provider if you have trouble getting a response.
- Response After Filing a Claim. Insurance companies should accept or deny the claim immediately but in no event later than 40 days after receiving proof of a claim.
- After a Claim Has Been Approved. Once the claim has been accepted, the insurer must pay the claim immediately, but in no event later than 30 days from the date settlement was reached.
If insurance companies go past these dates without a suitable reason for the delay, you should contact the California Department of Insurance.
Finding Support for Victims After a California Accident
If you or a loved one are ever injured in an accident caused by someone’s carelessness, you should schedule a free consultation with a California personal injury lawyer. Your lawyer can handle the frustrating claims process and all communication with insurers. Your lawyer does all the work to get you the most possible for your injury claim. This gives you time to focus on healing and rebuilding your life.
Talk to an experienced California personal injury lawyer about what your case may be worth. There’s no obligation for your free case review, but if you decide we can earn you more you won’t need any upfront money to hire us. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement check a car insurance company provides.
