Can I Refuse an Examination Under Oath in California?

Your insurance company has asked you to sit for an examination under oath, and you want to know whether you can refuse. In California, refusing can cost you the whole claim, but the law gives you a real say in how the examination is run.

Why your insurer can require one

An examination under oath, often called an EUO, is a formal interview about your claim. The insurance company’s lawyer usually asks the questions. You answer under oath, and a court reporter takes down every word.

The right to ask comes from your policy. California’s standard fire insurance policy is set out in Insurance Code section 2071. It requires you to submit to examinations under oath as often as reasonably required and to sign the transcript. Homeowners, renters, condo and business property policies commonly have a similar clause.

The same standard policy bars a lawsuit on the policy unless you have met its requirements. So the examination is not a courtesy. It is a condition of getting paid.

What happens if you refuse

In Brizuela v. CalFarm Insurance Co., a fire destroyed a market about six weeks after the owner bought it. The insurer scheduled examinations under oath, and the owner did not attend. His representative asked for copies of earlier recorded statements first, and the insurer refused. For six months the insurer asked for dates, and the owner never proposed or agreed to one. The insurer denied the claim.

In 2004 the Court of Appeal ruled for the insurer. It held that sitting for the examination is a condition of receiving policy benefits. The insurer did not have to prove that the refusal hurt its investigation. And because no benefits were owed, the owner’s claim that the insurer acted in bad faith failed too.

Refusing to answer questions can end the same way. In Abdelhamid v. Fire Insurance Exchange, investigators concluded that the fire at a homeowner’s house was deliberately set. At her examination, she refused questions about her finances and most questions about her bankruptcy, saying she had been advised they were unrelated to her claim. She also produced few of the documents the insurer had requested. In 2010 the Court of Appeal held that she had not met the policy’s conditions, so she could not recover.

California law lets you raise any objection you could raise at a deposition, the sworn questioning used in lawsuits. But an objection can have a cost. If it leaves an important question unanswered, and the insurer cannot judge the loss or the claim without the answer, your rights under the policy may be affected. The court in Abdelhamid said the Legislature placed that risk on the insured.

What you can push back on

You cannot refuse the examination outright. But you can insist that it be fair. For homeowners, condo, renters and other residential policies, Insurance Code section 2071.1 sets the ground rules:

• The insurer must tell you it will examine you and send you a copy of the statute.
• Its questions must be relevant and reasonably necessary to investigate or process the claim.
• The examination needs reasonable notice, a reasonably convenient place and a reasonable length.
• You may bring a lawyer and record the entire examination.
• On request, the insurer must give you a free copy of the transcript and any recording. It has 10 business days after it or its lawyer receives them.
• You may make sworn corrections to the transcript.

Business and auto policies may fall outside that statute. Under those policies, the insurer must still use the examination reasonably.

In 2024 a divided Court of Appeal decided Myasnyankin v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. It held that the right to record includes video of the insurer’s representatives at an in-person examination, not just of the person answering. The homeowner there took the disagreement to court, and the court agreed with him. The majority said recording, unlike the demand in Brizuela, does not get in the way of the insurer’s investigation.

When people ask me whether they can refuse, I tell them to push back on how the examination is run, not on whether it happens.

What to do instead of refusing

1. Do not ignore the request. Answer it in writing before the scheduled date.
2. If the date or place does not work, propose specific new dates in writing and keep a copy.
3. Read the examination clause in your policy. Under a residential policy, the insurer must also send you a copy of section 2071.1.
4. Talk to an examination under oath lawyer before you agree to a date. I represent policyholders at these examinations across California. I speak Russian and Armenian, so you can prepare in the language you are most comfortable in.
5. If you would rather testify in Russian, Armenian or another language, ask the insurer in writing for a qualified interpreter.
6. Gather the documents the insurer asks for. If a request seems too broad, say so in writing and offer what the claim needs.
7. Answer truthfully. If you do not know or do not remember, say so. Under the standard fire policy, lying under oath can void the entire policy.
8. Ask for the transcript and any recording, read them closely and send any sworn corrections.

If your insurer has asked you for an examination under oath, call me at 747-271-8386 or email artur@abramyanlaw.com before you agree to a date.

This post is general information about California insurance law, not legal advice. Every claim turns on its own facts and policy language.