Talking to an Insurance Investigator After a Rideshare Crash

Attorney Answer

You are not required to give a recorded statement to an insurance company that does not insure you, and you can say you will call back after you have spoken to a lawyer. An investigator's call is not a legal proceeding. There is no penalty for declining, and no deadline that a phone call sets.

Whose insurer is calling matters. If the caller works for the company that insures you, your own policy almost certainly contains a cooperation clause, and refusing to cooperate with your own insurer can put your coverage at risk. That is a policy term, so read it or ask what the policy requires before you refuse anything. If the caller works for another party's insurer, you owe them nothing beyond what you have already been required to exchange at the scene.

It is also worth knowing what that other insurer does and does not owe you. The prompt-payment provisions in Tex. Ins. Code ch. 542 apply to first-party claims, meaning claims by an insured under that insurer's own policy. The settlement-practice duties in Tex. Ins. Code ch. 541 run to insureds and beneficiaries. Someone claiming against another party's policy is neither, so those chapters give no private claim over how that insurer investigates, delays, or evaluates the file. Expect the call to be information-gathering for their side.

Rideshare crashes add a layer. Texas sets insurance requirements for transportation network companies, and which policy responds generally depends on the driver's status in the app when the crash happened — offline, waiting for a request, en route to a pickup, or carrying a rider. What a particular investigator is trying to establish about the trip is a question for a Texas attorney with the policies in hand.

The underlying claim runs on ordinary Texas law. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001 bars recovery by a claimant more than 50 percent responsible, § 33.012(a) reduces damages by the claimant's own percentage, and § 33.013(a) makes each defendant answerable for its own percentage. A recorded statement given early, before the facts are settled, is often where a percentage of fault comes from.

What you can do

1. Ask who the investigator works for and which party they represent, and write down the company name, the claim number, and a callback number.

2. Tell them you will respond after you speak with a lawyer. You do not have to give a recorded statement on the spot to another party's insurer.

3. Check your own policy for its cooperation clause before you decline anything with your own insurer, and ask them, in writing, what the policy requires.

4. Preserve what exists — the crash report number, photographs, the in-app trip record and timestamps, medical records, and repair estimates — rather than writing out a new account of the crash.

5. Notify the rideshare company through its app or claims channel if you have not already, and keep the confirmation.

6. Ask a Texas attorney to review the policies and the trip record before you give any statement about how the crash happened or accept any offer. Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts with someone who can ask you questions is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) generally allows two years from the day the cause of action accrues to sue for personal injury and for property damage. An investigator's call does not extend it, and insurance policies impose their own, shorter notice conditions. Because the accrual date depends on your facts, have a Texas attorney confirm it.