Not before you talk with your DUI lawyer. Anything you tell an insurer can be offered against you in the criminal case, because the hearsay rule does not keep out a party’s own statements. Your own policy may require you to cooperate with the insurer, so the goal is to coordinate when and how you give a statement, not to refuse or to shade the facts.

Your statement does not stay inside the insurance file

A statement to an insurer can feel like a private conversation about property damage or a claim number, but the hearsay rule does not keep it out of your DUI case. A statement is not made inadmissible by the hearsay rule “when offered against the declarant in an action to which he is a party” (Evidence Code section 1220), and you are a party to your own DUI case. In plain terms, if the prosecution obtains what you told an insurer about how the collision happened, what you had been drinking, or when you started driving, it can be offered at trial as your own statement. Do not assume that saying something “just for the insurance claim” keeps it confidential.

What compromise-offer protection actually covers

Some people assume that anything said while trying to settle a claim is automatically off-limits later. California does have a compromise rule, but it is narrower than that. Evidence that a person offered, promised, or paid money or anything else, as a compromise or from humanitarian motives, to someone claiming a loss, along with conduct or statements made while negotiating it, “is inadmissible to prove his or her liability for the loss or damage or any part of it” (Evidence Code section 1152). By its terms, that protection is about proving liability for the loss itself. It does not say it keeps those statements out when they are offered to prove something else, such as whether you were impaired, so do not count on it in the DUI case. It also does not reach an ordinary factual account or recorded interview about how the collision happened, which is not a settlement negotiation.

The DUI case and the insurance claim run on separate tracks

A pending DUI case and an insurance claim connected to the same collision do not automatically wait for each other. There is no general rule that requires an insurer to pause its investigation until the criminal case ends, and no general rule that requires the criminal case to wait on the insurance claim. If you want to align the timing of a statement with where your DUI case stands, raise it with the insurer or your agent, and with your defense lawyer, rather than assuming it will happen on its own.

What to do instead of refusing or guessing

Your own auto policy may include a duty to cooperate with the insurer’s investigation as a condition of coverage. That duty comes from the policy, so read what it actually says about statements before agreeing to a recorded interview. Do not lie to any insurer, and do not simply ignore your own insurer, since either can create its own problems with your coverage. A more useful approach is:

  • Tell the insurer you want a short delay to speak with your defense lawyer before giving any recorded statement.
  • Ask whether a written statement, reviewed by your lawyer first, is an option instead of a recorded call.
  • Ask the insurer to send you, in writing, the claim number and what it already has on file, so you are not asked to guess at details from memory under pressure.
  • Bring your DUI lawyer into the loop before the call, not after.

The Law Offices of David S. Chesley can walk through how a statement to an insurer fits into your DUI case. Talk to the firm first at (800) 755-5174.