Recorded Statements: Why You Should Never Give One to an Insurance Adjuster After a Serious Accident
“We Just Need a Quick Statement to Process Your Claim”
In the days following a serious car or truck accident, your phone will ring. On the other end will be a friendly, professional-sounding insurance adjuster from the at-fault party’s carrier. They will be polite, express sympathy for what you’re going through, and then they will make a request that sounds perfectly reasonable: “To move forward with your claim, I just need to get a brief recorded statement from you. It will only take a few minutes.”
This request is a critical moment in your case, and how you respond can have a profound impact on your financial future. While it may seem like a routine, harmless step, it is a carefully designed tool used by insurers for one primary purpose: to find a reason to devalue or deny your claim. For anyone recovering from a serious injury—especially a traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury—providing a recorded statement without legal counsel is one of the most significant mistakes you can make.
This article will explain exactly what a recorded statement is, why adjusters are so persistent in trying to get one, and the legal reasons why you should politely but firmly decline. We will empower you with the knowledge to protect yourself from this common insurance company tactic.
What is a Recorded Statement and Why Do They Want It?
A recorded statement is a formal question-and-answer session conducted by an insurance adjuster over the phone. The entire conversation is recorded and can be transcribed into a legal document. The adjuster will ask you a series of questions about the accident, your background, and, most importantly, your injuries.
The insurance company will tell you this is a necessary part of their “investigation.” In reality, they are not gathering facts to help you; they are fishing for evidence to use against you. The adjuster is a highly trained professional whose job is to save the company money. They know what questions to ask and how to phrase them to elicit responses that can be manipulated later.
Here’s what they are really looking for:
- Inconsistencies: They will compare your recorded statement to the police report, witness statements, and any future testimony you might give in a deposition or at trial. Even minor, innocent discrepancies in your recollection of events can be used to attack your credibility and paint you as an unreliable narrator.
- Admissions of Fault: They will ask leading questions designed to get you to admit even a tiny percentage of fault. For example, they might ask, “Were you in a hurry?” or “Did you look away for just a second?” In Colorado, a modified comparative fault rule means that if you are found to be 50% or more at fault, you cannot recover any damages. Even being assigned 10% fault can reduce your compensation.
- Minimizing Your Injuries: This is perhaps the most critical area. The call often comes just days after the accident. You’re likely on pain medication, still in shock, and the full extent of your injuries may not yet be apparent. Soft tissue injuries and even some traumatic brain injuries have delayed-onset symptoms.
- The “How are you feeling?” trap: You might reflexively say, “I’m okay” or “I’m doing alright,” out of politeness. The insurer will later use this to argue your injuries weren’t severe.
- The specific injury trap: They’ll ask, “So your neck and back hurt, is there anything else?” At that moment, you might not be focused on the tingling in your fingers or the recurring headaches. If you later require treatment for a herniated disc causing that tingling, they will point to your recorded statement and claim you never mentioned it, implying it’s an unrelated or fabricated injury.
The Illusion of Obligation: You Are Not Required to Give a Statement
A third-party insurance company—that is, the insurer for the person who hit you—has no legal right to demand a recorded statement from you. You are not their client, and you have no contractual obligation to them. When they tell you it’s “required to process your claim,” it is misleading. They can process and pay a claim without your recorded testimony.
The situation can be slightly different with your own insurance company. Most policies contain a “cooperation clause,” which requires you to cooperate with their investigation. This might include providing a statement, particularly if you are making an Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UIM) claim. However, even in this scenario, you should never provide a statement without your own legal counsel present. Your attorney can ensure the questions are fair, advise you on how to answer, and prevent the adjuster from going on a fishing expedition into irrelevant areas of your life.
Your attorney can and will provide all the necessary information to the insurance company through formal, controlled channels, protecting you from the risks of a recorded Q&A session.
Case Study: How a Simple Statement Caused a Major Problem
A client, a successful sales executive, was involved in a serious T-bone collision at a Denver intersection. A few days after the crash, before contacting our firm, he agreed to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance adjuster. When asked how he was, he mentioned his shoulder hurt but said he was “mostly just stiff and sore.” He didn’t mention the mild dizziness he was experiencing, assuming it was a side effect of his pain medication.
Weeks later, the dizziness worsened, and cognitive tests revealed a moderate traumatic brain injury that impacted his memory and ability to track complex sales data. The insurance company flatly denied the TBI portion of his claim. Their reasoning? He never mentioned any head trauma or dizziness in his recorded statement and even described himself as “sore.”
Our firm had to hire medical experts and a neuropsychologist to fight this denial and establish the clear medical link between the collision and the delayed-onset TBI symptoms. While we were ultimately successful, the client’s innocent, off-the-cuff remarks in that initial statement created a significant hurdle that added months of litigation and stress to his recovery. This is a battle he never would have had to fight if he had simply declined the statement. If you’ve been in a serious car accident, protecting your rights from the very beginning is paramount.
What to Say When the Adjuster Calls
You now know you should decline the request. But how do you do it without sounding uncooperative? Here is a simple, effective script:
Adjuster: “Hello, this is [Adjuster’s Name] from [Insurance Company]. I’m calling about the accident on [Date]. I’d like to get a brief recorded statement to help process the claim.”
You: “Thank you for your call. I am still in the process of dealing with my medical treatment and am not in a position to give any statements at this time. All future communications regarding this matter can be directed to my attorney.”
If you haven’t hired an attorney yet, you can say:
You: “I am not providing any statements at this time. Please send me your contact information, and my counsel will be in touch with you shortly.”
Be polite, be firm, and end the conversation. Do not be drawn into small talk or answer “just a few simple questions.” Any statement you make, recorded or not, can be noted in the adjuster’s file and used against you.
Final Takeaway: Protect Your Claim, Protect Your Future
A recorded statement is not a conversation; it is a strategic maneuver by the insurance company. They are not seeking clarity; they are seeking leverage. By giving a statement, you are providing them with ammunition that can be used to attack your credibility, minimize your injuries, and ultimately deny you the fair compensation you need to recover and secure your family’s future.
The smartest move you can make after a serious injury is to let an experienced legal professional handle all communications with the insurance company. This ensures your rights are protected from day one. If you have been asked to provide a statement, or if you’ve already given one, it’s not too late to get help. Call Flanagan Law now at 720-928-9178 for your free, no-obligation consultation. Let our expertise be your shield.
Sources & Further Reading
- Colorado Revised Statutes, C.R.S. § 13-21-117. Civil liability cases – pro rata liability of defendants. This statute details Colorado’s comparative fault rules, which is why insurers try to elicit admissions of fault in recorded statements.
- No-Fault & Uninsured Motorist Automobile Insurance, § 35.03. Insured’s Duty to Cooperate. A legal resource explaining the nature and limits of the cooperation clause in insurance policies.
- American Bar Association (ABA). The Personal Injury Victim’s Rights. This guide for consumers often includes warnings about interacting with insurance adjusters and the risks of providing recorded statements.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is it ever a good idea to give a recorded statement? For a serious injury claim, it is almost never a good idea to give a recorded statement to the at-fault party’s insurer. In the rare case where your own insurer requires one under your policy’s cooperation clause, it should only be done with your attorney present to protect your interests.
2. What if the adjuster says they can’t make a settlement offer without my statement? This is a pressure tactic. An insurance company has access to the police report, photos, and medical records authorization forms, which provide more than enough information to evaluate a claim. Your attorney will submit a formal demand letter with all necessary documentation, making a recorded statement entirely unnecessary for settlement.
3. Is an unrecorded conversation with an adjuster safe? No. While it may not be recorded, the adjuster is taking detailed notes of everything you say. These notes become part of the claim file and can be used against you in the same way a formal recording can. The best policy is to avoid discussing the facts of the case with an adjuster altogether.
4. Can I refuse to talk to my own insurance company? You must report the accident to your own insurer in a timely manner, but you are not obligated to have a detailed discussion or give a formal statement on that first call. You can provide the basic facts (who, what, where, when) and then inform them your attorney will handle all further communication. This fulfills your duty to report without jeopardizing your claim. Contact us online to discuss your case and learn how we can help you.
5. The adjuster said my claim would be delayed if I don’t give a statement. Is that true? This is another common pressure tactic. While the insurer might try to use your refusal as an excuse for a delay, any “unreasonable delay” can be grounds for a bad faith claim against them under Colorado law. The real cause of delay is often the insurer’s internal processes, not your refusal to provide a statement they aren’t entitled to.
