Can car insurance companies check phone records?
Car insurance companies can only check your phone records with a formal request after you've been in an accident and filed a claim. Car insurance companies check phone records to see if you were on the phone while you were driving. You will be notified when your car insurance company checks your phone records.
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Licensed Agent for 15 Years
Rachael Brennan has been working in the insurance industry since 2006 when she began working as a licensed insurance representative for 21st Century Insurance, during which time she earned her Property and Casualty license in all 50 states. After several years she expanded her insurance expertise, earning her license in Health and AD&D insurance as well. She has worked for small health insuran...
Rachael Brennan
Former Auto Insurance Claims Manager
Chris Harrigan has an economic degree from Limestone College and an MBA from Clemson University. He previously managed auto insurance claims for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Currently, he is using his business and insurance expertise to provide insurance data analysis and visualizations to enhance the user experience.
Chris Harrigan
Updated November 2024
- If your car insurance provider is asking for your phone records, then you have probably been involved in some kind of accident and have filed a claim
- You will receive notice if your car insurance company attempts to request your phone records
- If the insurance company has a subpoena issued to the phone company, then the phone company may have to comply with a court order to release your phone records for at least the day of the auto accident
- Check your policy documents very carefully to see if turning over your phone records for the time period involving an accident is a condition of you being able to settle your claim
- You probably will not have to worry about phone records being turned over until after a lawsuit has already been filed
If you are worried about the insurance company getting a copy of your phone records, then you have most likely been involved in an auto accident.
The reason that the insurance company may want to see your phone records is to find out whether you were distracted while driving and whether that contributed to the actual accident.
The most likely way that your phone records would get turned over is through a subpoena issued to your cell phone company directly from the insurance company once a suit has been filed.
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What information is gathered after an auto accident?
If you are involved in an auto accident with any kind of substantial damage, there will likely be a claim filed by the injured driver. The insurance company will want to try to determine which driver was at fault or responsible for the accident.
One of the ways to figure this out is to see whether a driver was distracted, such as by talking or texting on a cell phone, leading up to the crash.
After a claim is filed, a court case may result if the claim is not settled immediately.
If the case makes its way to court, then it is possible for an insurance company to issue a subpoena to the phone company to try to get access to phone records and figure out what caused the car accident.
If the other driver’s auto insurance company asks you directly for a copy of your phone records, then you should not produce this without an order from the court or unless your attorney advises you to do so.
You should not communicate directly with the other driver’s auto insurance company because anything you say could be used against you in a future lawsuit if filed.
While your auto insurance company may provide you a defense if you are sued by another driver for an auto accident, they are only responsible for paying out up to your insurance policy limits.
If the damages that the other driver is seeking exceed your policy limits, then you may want to hire your own attorney to defend your assets in court.
The good news is that most auto insurance claims from an accident are settled without requiring any litigation.
For claims that involve very serious personal injuries, the odds of the claim making its way to court are much higher because the injured party will seek to recover for both medical expenses and damage to their vehicle.
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What’s the importance of having adequate policy limits?
Being in a situation where you are facing potential litigation after a car accident will make you think hard about your auto insurance policy limits.
If the amount that the other driver is awarded by the court is greater than the limits of your car insurance policy, then it is your responsibility to cover the difference.
This is an important consideration when you are shopping for a car insurance policy. In getting different rate quotes for car insurance, you need to be sure that you are not simply jumping on the cheapest option.
If you do, you may find yourself digging deep into your own pockets later on after an auto accident.
The much more prudent approach is to make sure that you have adequate policy limits before you sign up for auto insurance. You can even take a look at your current policy limits to see if it makes sense to increase your protection.
You may be surprised at how affordable it really is to increase your policy limits.
To help offset any increase in your car insurance premium as a result of bumping up your policy limits, you could always opt for a higher deductible.
Your premium will be lowered, and you will know exactly how much you will need to pay for your deductible to file an insurance claim under a comprehensive or collision insurance policy.
Can car insurance companies check your phone records?
The occasion for which you may be concerned about a car insurance company looking into your phone records probably involves an accident and a claim.
If a lawsuit has already been filed regarding the accident, then the insurance company may get a subpoena and serve it on your phone company to get access to your phone records.
If you retain a separate attorney, you could object to the subpoena. The insurance company may be trying to determine whether you were talking on your cell phone leading up to or during an accident.
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