Where issues involving a claim are not satisfactorily resolved from the perspective of the insurance company through a recorded statement, the insurance company will sometimes request what is known as an examination under oath. Specifically provided for by the insurance policy, this is an opportunity for the insurance company to question the insured under oath as to matters related to the claim at hand. To accomplish this, virtually all insurance companies hire an attorney to conduct the examination which usually takes place at the attorney's office at an agreed upon date and time. A court reporter is present and the insured is administered an oath just as if testifying in court.
Should you hire an attorney to appear with you at the examination under oath?
As always, there is no hard and steadfast rule. You obviously need to balance the amount of the claim at issue compared to the cost of hiring an attorney to meet with you, prepare you for the examination and attend the examination. In deciding whether to retain an attorney to represent you, remember the obvious; the insurance company, even though sophisticated and knowledgeable about the claims process, has itself deemed it to be important enough to hire an attorney to represent its interests at the examination.
As is being implied, it may well be worth the expense for you to be represented as well. If you choose to go alone, however, remember that the scope of the attorney's questioning needs to be both reasonable and related to the claim itself, meaning that you should politely object and refuse to answer unrelated questions until you are provided by the attorney with at least an arguable and reasonable basis for the questions that are causing you concern. Bear in mind that the "cooperation clause" applies to each party's conduct at the examination under oath. As a result, your refusal to answer arguably reasonable questions may well lead to a denial of your claim for that reason alone.
