If you’ve heard the phrase ‘examination under oath’ recently, this is a provision that every single insurance policy has whether for business or personal property. Often shortened to EUO, this is a process where the insured is questioned by a representative from the insurance company. As the name suggests, this questioning takes place under oath and with a court reporter present.
In most cases, the insurance company will try to arrange the EUO before you even have time to contact an attorney; they know that they’re more likely to get the result they want this way. Why? At Cannella Legal, we’ve read through lots of EUOs and we’ve found the questions to not only be confusing but often misleading too.
Unfortunately, the questions are very carefully worded, and they have the goal of framing the insured party. By the end, the answers to the questions are normally enough to deny a claim for any of the following reasons;
- Fraudulent claim
- Lack of coverage
- Excluded by the policy
For the insurance company, it’s essentially their opportunity to ask anything they want and relieve themselves of responsibility for the claim. In many cases, the insured is left disappointed after finding out that their claim has been denied after what they thought was a normal step in the process.
Contact an Attorney Early
If you’re claiming against your provider, we recommend getting in touch with a trusted attorney as soon as possible (like our own service here at Cannella Legal!). As soon as your statement or answers have been provided under oath, it will be sworn before a notary and filed as your POL (proof of loss). From here, there’s nothing we can do to save your claim.
As much as we would like to think that insurance companies want the best for everyone, it’s fair to say that all they really want is to pay as little money as possible. These companies exist for their shareholders alone; no matter how much trauma you’ve been through or how much your family is suffering, they still don’t want to pay money that could go towards their own bonuses.
Let’s take on the insurance provider together and get that money you deserve after paying your premiums. You held up your end of the deal, why shouldn’t they too? If you’re filing a claim against the insurer, let us know and our experience will allow us to avoid the common pitfalls!