As a policyholder, your policy likely requires you to submit to an Examination Under Oath (“EUO”) if requested by your insurance company. The EUO is a phase of the insurance company’s investigation, and is similar to a deposition. You will be sworn under oath, the insurance company’s attorney will be asking you a series of questions about your claim, and a court reporter will be there typing down everything you say. Although the insurance company is seeking information, anything damaging you say can be used against you later, even in court.
Further, although not always the case, an EUO is taken when the insurance company suspects that your claim should be denied for some reason, and wants to obtain your sworn testimony to support their denial. No matter how friendly the insurance adjuster and their attorney are during an EUO, they are not on your side.
At the Davis Law Firm, we view EUO’s just like depositions. You shouldn’t attend a deposition without speaking with an attorney first, and the same goes for EUO’s. The insurance company’s attorney likely has something in mind that they want you to say and they can be pretty crafty at getting you to word something in a way that benefits the insurance company. If you’ve been requested to take an examination under oath, make sure you call us to discuss your situation before giving your sworn testimony. |
The Davis Law Firm is located in Jacksonville, Florida and serves clients throughout the states of Florida and Georgia, including Jacksonville, Miami, Pensacola, Orlando, Tampa, St. Petersburg, St. Augustine, Fort Myers, Daytona Beach, Panama City, Destin, Melbourne, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Tallahassee, the Florida Keys, and everywhere in between.