# Do You Have to Give a Recorded Statement? | DG > Not to the other driver's insurer — no Texas law requires it, and their adjuster's recording serves their file. Your own policy's cooperation duty is different. - Canonical page: https://dgcollision.com/answers/do-i-have-to-give-a-recorded-statement/ - This file: Markdown twin of the page above (clean text for AI assistants and crawlers) - Business: DG Collision Center, 693 Metro Park Cir #20, Lewisville, TX 75057 — (972) 219-0864 (text: 817-907-2822) — since 1978 - Hours: Mon–Fri 8:30am–5:30pm, Sat 10am–1pm, closed Sunday · 24/7 towing · 4.9/5 on 500+ Google reviews - Full site index for assistants: https://dgcollision.com/llms.txt - Last generated: 2026-08-14 --- # DO YOU HAVE TO GIVE A RECORDED STATEMENT? Quick Answer Not to the other driver’s insurance company — no Texas law requires it, no matter how routine their adjuster makes it sound. Their recording is built for their file: it exists to find words that soften their driver’s fault or shrink your damage. Your own carrier is the different case — your policy’s cooperation clause requires you to help your insurer investigate, and refusing outright can jeopardize your own coverage. The practical rule: cooperate with yours, decline theirs politely, and put facts in writing where words can’t be pulled out of context. By [Shah Jiwani](https://dgcollision.com/about/shah-jiwani/) · Owner, DG Collision Center Updated September 24, 2026 3 min read I-CAR Gold Class · PPG Certified The Longer Answer ## WHOSE RECORDER IT IS DECIDES EVERYTHING The call usually comes fast — sometimes before the tow truck’s gone — and the adjuster is friendly, and the request sounds procedural: “just a quick recorded statement to process the claim.” What matters is the letterhead. When it’s the other driver’s carrier, you are a claimant against their insured, they owe you a defense of their money, and their recording is a tool for that job. You have no contract with them, and Texas imposes no duty to be recorded by them. Nothing about declining slows your claim: their obligation to evaluate it runs on the evidence — the CR-3, photographs, the repair documentation — not on your voice memo. A polite “I’ll provide the facts in writing” ends the conversation and loses you nothing. When it’s your own carrier, the balance shifts, because your policy almost certainly contains a cooperation clause — you agreed to help your insurer investigate claims when you bought the coverage, and refusing to cooperate at all can put your own coverage at risk. That still doesn’t make the first phone call the right moment: you can schedule the conversation for when you’re calm and informed, ask whether a written statement satisfies them, and stick to facts you actually know — “I don’t know yet” is a complete answer, and guessing at speeds, distances and injuries is how honest people create problems. (This page is general information, not legal advice — when injuries or disputed fault are in play, a conversation with a lawyer before any statement is money well spent.) Why the caution isn’t paranoia: recorded answers get compared against everything else forever — the CR-3, the other driver’s version, your own later statements — and innocent imprecision reads as inconsistency. “I’m fine” said politely on day two becomes an exhibit against the whiplash that surfaced on day five; a guessed speed becomes the anchor for a fault argument. The alternative that serves you is documentation that can’t be led: dated photos, the police report, and a teardown-documented repair estimate that states the damage in line items instead of adjectives. That’s the file we build on every claim — and the full playbook for handling the at-fault carrier lives in the [not-my-fault guide](https://dgcollision.com/guides/accident-not-my-fault/). Related Questions ## ASKED ALONGSIDE THIS ONE Will refusing a recorded statement delay my claim? + A: Declining the other carrier’s recording doesn’t suspend their duty to evaluate your claim — evidence drives that, not audio. An adjuster implying “we can’t move forward without it” is describing a preference. Keep supplying documents and the claim keeps moving. What should I say when their adjuster calls? + A: Confirm the basics — the crash happened, the date, where the car is — and offer facts in writing. Decline recording, don’t speculate about fault or injuries, and don’t accept a settlement figure on the spot. Courteous and brief beats clever every time; the goal is to end the call having added nothing to their file but facts. Can I refuse my OWN insurer’s recorded statement? + A: Outright refusal is risky — the cooperation clause is a real contractual duty, and non-cooperation can jeopardize your coverage. What you can do: schedule it rather than take it cold, ask if written answers satisfy the requirement, and stick strictly to what you know. Cooperation means honesty, not improvisation. Does the body shop ever talk to the adjusters for me? + A: About the repair, constantly — you file the claim, and we handle the damage documentation, supplement negotiations and adjuster correspondence about the vehicle. Statements about how the crash happened are yours alone to give or decline; no shop should be speaking to that, and none should be coaching you to shade it. Go Deeper [Handling the at-fault carrier](https://dgcollision.com/guides/accident-not-my-fault/) · [The after-accident playbook](https://dgcollision.com/after-an-accident-texas/) · [The police-report answer](https://dgcollision.com/answers/do-i-need-a-police-report-for-an-insurance-claim-texas/)