A Broken Record: the Recorded Statement

Almost immediately after a motor vehicle collision, an insurance company will contact an injured person and ask them to provide what is commonly known as a recorded statement. The adjuster will sometimes take the statement in the initial conversation, but it is usually soon after the first phone conversation. The adjuster will usually ask the caller’s permission to begin recording the statement. Then the adjuster will ask a number of questions about how the accident occurred, conversations, and a person’s injuries.

If you have your statement recorded by an insurance carrier, you have the right to a transcribed copy. Virginia Code Section 8.01-417 requires the insurance carrier to send you a copy of any written statement relating to your injury “forthwith” or a verified typed transcription of the audio recording within 30 days after the statement or recording when the statement is transcribed or in all cases when requested by the injured person. But you have to request it to get it.

The insurance carriers often base their decision of whether to accept or deny a claim based on the recorded statements. They begin investigating a claim almost immediately after it is reported and gather information, including statements, on which to base their decision. So remember when you make the claim you are going on the record, their record!

Labels: