A recorded statement is an interview an insurance adjuster records, usually by phone, about how an accident happened and how you were hurt. In California, you have no legal duty to give one to the other party's insurer. Your own policy may require you to cooperate with your insurer, but it rarely requires a statement before you have had advice.
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| Other party's insurer | No legal duty to give a recorded statement |
|---|---|
| Your own insurer | Your policy may require reasonable cooperation, including with a claim |
| Consent to record | Adjusters must ask before recording a confidential call (Penal Code § 632) |
| Medical authorizations | Often broader than the claim needs; you can limit them |
| Attorney fee | 33% contingency; no attorney's fee unless there is a recovery, though case costs and expenses may still apply |
| First consultation | Free, about thirty minutes, in English, Armenian, Russian or Spanish |
What is a recorded statement?
A recorded statement is an interview, usually by phone, in which an insurance adjuster asks about the accident and your injuries. The adjuster records your answers. That recording then becomes part of the insurer’s claim file, and the insurer can use it as evidence for as long as the claim is open.
The request usually comes within a few days of an accident, often before you have seen a doctor more than once. Adjusters are courteous and practiced, and they design the call to feel like routine paperwork. It is not routine: it is the insurer’s first chance to gather material that limits what it pays.
Do you have to give a statement to the other side’s insurer?
You have no legal duty to give a recorded statement to the other party’s insurance company in California. You have no contract with that company, and declining does not end your claim or make it weaker.
Instead, you can give basic information without discussing fault or injuries. That means your name, how to reach you, the date and place of the accident, and the name of your own insurer. It is also reasonable to say that you are getting advice and that someone will be in touch.
Under Penal Code § 632, a caller generally cannot record a confidential phone call without the consent of everyone on it. That is why adjusters ask first. You can refuse to be recorded, and you can end the call at any time.
What about your own insurance company?
Your own policy is a contract, and it usually requires you to cooperate with your insurer’s investigation of a claim. Cooperation is not the same as giving an unprepared, open-ended interview on the first call.
Cooperation matters most in an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim. There, your own insurer stands in the shoes of the at-fault driver and has every reason to question fault and value. After a rideshare crash, calls can also come from more than one insurer; the guide to Uber and Lyft accident claims in California explains whose policy applies. Some policies allow the insurer to take an examination under oath, which is formal and recorded by a court reporter. An attorney can review the policy language and attend any statement or examination with you.
What do adjusters ask in a recorded statement?
Adjusters ask questions that sound neutral but target fault, the severity of the injury and its cause. Knowing why an adjuster asks a question explains why a casual answer can cost a claim.
- “How are you feeling today?” A polite “fine” or “a bit better” can turn up later as evidence that the injury was minor.
- “Walk me through what happened.” Estimates of speed, distance and timing are easy to get wrong days after a shock. Once recorded, they are hard to take back.
- “Have you ever hurt your back before?” Earlier injuries become the insurer’s explanation for your current symptoms.
- “What have you been doing since?” The insurer can use answers about work, errands or exercise to argue that the injury does not limit you.
- “Is there anything else?” An open invitation to talk. Silence at the end of a question is a common interviewing technique.
Language and the recorded statement
If English is not your first language, a recorded statement carries an extra risk. An insurer can later read a word chosen under pressure as an admission or an inconsistency. Insurers do not always offer an interpreter. The firm works in English, Armenian, Russian and Spanish, and an attorney can attend any statement you decide to give.
Social media and surveillance
Insurers routinely check public social media accounts, and in larger claims they sometimes hire investigators to film claimants in public. An insurer can present a photograph of a family event or a gym visit as evidence that an injury is less serious than you have described. It does so even when the photograph shows only a few minutes of a difficult day.
Should you sign a medical authorization from the insurer?
Insurers often send a blanket medical authorization that allows them to collect your entire medical history, not only records related to the accident. You are not required to sign one to pursue a claim against another party’s insurer.
Earlier records give the insurer material to argue that your symptoms come from a prior condition. Records from years ago rarely help your side of the claim. Your attorney can instead gather and provide relevant records in a controlled way, limited to the injuries and treatment that the claim involves.
What should you do about an early settlement offer?
Insurers usually make an early settlement offer before anyone knows the full extent of an injury. Accepting it means signing a release that ends the claim for good. The release generally covers future treatment, even for problems that have not yet appeared.
A property damage settlement for your vehicle is different. You can usually resolve it on its own without affecting the injury claim, provided the release is limited to property damage. Reading the release before signing is what protects the injury claim.
Early offers are often tied to a short response window or to a small immediate payment. Understanding what a release covers, and what the claim may be worth once treatment has progressed, comes first. The page on settlements and verdicts explains how insurers value a claim, and the car accident claims guide covers the separate vehicle damage claim.
What if you have already given a statement?
A recorded statement you have already given does not usually ruin a claim. It becomes one piece of evidence that sits alongside the medical records, photographs and witnesses.
An attorney can ask the insurer for a copy or transcript of the recorded statement. If the insurer declines before a lawsuit, your attorney can generally obtain it through discovery once the case is filed. Once you have representation, the insurer must communicate through your attorney rather than with you directly.
An attorney can review it against the other evidence. Many people give statements in pain, on medication, in a second language or before a diagnosis. Those circumstances often explain inconsistencies.
What rules do California insurers have to follow?
California insurers must follow the Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations. They sit in Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations, beginning at § 2695.1. The regulations require insurers to acknowledge claims promptly, investigate them, and accept or deny them within set time limits.
Insurance Code § 790.03(h) lists unfair claims practices. Examples include misrepresenting policy provisions, or offering substantially less than a claim is worth in order to force litigation. The California Department of Insurance accepts consumer complaints about claims handling. Those rules set standards, but they do not make the adjuster your advocate.
Deadlines keep running while you talk to insurers, and the personal injury deadlines page sets them out. For the claim as a whole, see the personal injury overview.
What does it cost to get advice before you speak to the insurer?
The firm handles personal injury claims on a 33% contingency fee, taken from any recovery, with nothing up front. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney’s fee, though you may remain responsible for case costs and expenses. The written agreement explains how the firm handles them before you sign. The fees and consultations page sets out the detail.
Your first consultation is free and takes about thirty minutes. There is time for it before you return an adjuster’s call.