A. Recap: What is an Examination Under Oath (EUO):

After you report your property insurance claim, your insurance company will investigate the claim.  After the inspection, an insurer might have additional questions regarding your claim.  This is typical if the adjuster is unable to verify certain damages at the inspection, if the insured property has a history of claims or repairs to the same damages, if the damages claimed are high-value (i.e. $50,000+).  This is known as an EUO.  Remember, the insured will be sweared in for the EUO, so it is extremely important all questions are answered truthfully and to the best of your abilities.

Under most insurance policies, failure to appear or to answer EUO questions can forfeit a claim (claim denial).  Because of potentially fatal consequences for refusing to answer a question, it is very important to reconsider any time you want to refuse to answer because the question is unreasonable.

Of course, it is always highly advised to retain an attorney to help you on the spot if you’re stuck wondering whether you must answer a probing question.

B. Can an Insurance Company ask for personal financial information at an EUO?

Let’s understand the basics.  Unlike a deposition, an EUO is not a buffet for the insurance company to ask whatever question comes to their mind.  To the contrary, EUO questions must be relevant to the claim.  

In Florida, an appellate court addressed this issue head-on: whether the insured “had improperly refused to submit to and complete an appropriate and contractually required pre-suit examination under oath.”  Specifically, the insurer asked details of the insured’s prior fraud conviction and who was living with the insured at the time of the loss.

On appeal, the insurance company argued that the insured’s “refusal to complete the examination and provide the requested documents” prevented the insurance company from exercising its contractual right to fully investigate the claim.

The court rejected the insurance company’s argument.  Instead, the court found that the insured was within his right to “refuse” to answer questions that were disrespectful and had nothing to do with the merits of the claim.

See De Leon vs. Great Am. Assur. Co., 78 So. 3d 585, 586 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2011).

C. What’s the Golden Rule of EUO’s?

Like many things in law, the golden rule is reasonableness.  Questions into an insured’s personal financial information would likely be appropriate if there is a reasonable basis by the insurer to believe that the claim is fraudulent.  Examples include: multiple claims filed for the same loss and high-value claim with suspicious events leading up to the loss.

In an abundance of caution, we recommend an insured retain counsel to assist in the preparation of and answering at the EUO.  This will avoid responding to non-claim related questions when inappropriate.

For a better understanding of how your EUO testimony will affect your claim, please review our other articles on this topic on the main page.