State laws and insurance claim guidelines may differ however for a claims adjuster to investigate an accident claim then will normally need the statements of both drivers involved as well as any witnesses.

Failure to cooperate and comply with an insurance company's request for your statement regarding how the accident occurred could result in loss of coverage for the accident, without it constituting bad faith by the insurer.

Even though the other driver was cited in the accident, insurance adjusters investigate the accident and sometimes find fault differently then law enforcement does in an accident report. Typically in order to move forward with a claim the other party's insurance company will need you to cooperate and give a statement regarding how the collision came about.

The Maine Bureau of Insurance, the insurance regulator of ME, states that in a first-party claim, your contract requires you to cooperate with your insurer in the investigation of a claim, and also to submit to examination under oath if required. This is more formal than a recorded statement. Failure to submit to an examination under oath or refusal to participate in a recorded statement could be considered failure to cooperate with the insurer and result in denial of the claim.

In a third-party claim, you have no such contractual obligation, but refusal to provide information in the manner the insurer has requested could also lead to denial of the claim.

Generally you will need to submit to the insurance company's request to provide a statement to the insurance adjuster concerning the events of an accident. If you are not comfortable with a recorded verbal statement you may see if the insurance company will accept a written statement.