Providing a Written Statement After an Auto Accident

Should you answer insurance investigator’s questions or provide a written statement after a St. Louis automobile accident?

Recorded and written statements are a part of almost every car accident case, whether it is a simple claim or a full blown lawsuit. However, the question is whether a person should agree to give a recorded statement or not? Is there an advantage to providing a written record rather than answering the investigator’s questions? Consider the following.

Insurance Companies Often Want Recorded Statements

Insurance companies are known to use pressure tactics to get the claimants and witnesses to provide a recorded statement during investigation. The insurance adjuster may demand a recorded statement during the initial call itself. This happens because the insurance adjusters and even the investigators usually have a script for recorded statements and as they ask questions they tend to focus in the information they think is relevant to the claim even though it may not be relevant to the claimant. Also, adjusters find recorded statements easier to control, and they are often able to ambush the claimant with a request for recorded statement. For this reason, most recorded statements are provided without any input from a St. Louis Car Wreck Lawyer. The claimants should understand that the statement they provide can have a direct effect on the insurance company’s decision regarding liability, which could mean the difference between obtaining rightful compensation and nothing at all.

In short, insurance companies prefer recorded statements over written statements as they are more likely to benefit the insurance company.

Do I Have the Right to Give a Written Statement?

The claimant has the right to provide a written statement. Depending on the insurance policy, the claimant may not have the right to deny providing a recorded statement, however, the claimant is never prevented from providing a written statement stating his/her version of events. In spite of this, many people let go of this opportunity to narrate their side of the story.

Giving a written statement to the insurance company lets the claimant narrate exactly what happened leading up to the claim with as much detail as he/she wants. The advantage of a written statement is that it can be done in your own time and there is no pressure to get it right the first time. The claim can control the message and is not dependent on the adjuster who may ask the questions that distort the story or suit his interests.