To buy a dash camera or not

UsualSuspect wrote:
My insurance advised against one. He said if you have an accident and it is your fault the other party can ask for the footage and use it against you. I told him I would just remove the memory card and no worries. He said the problem with removing it, or just having it there without a card raises the question of what happened to the card and what do you have to hide. He said he has a claim that they are having issues with because the dash cam was mounted, but no memory card, and it is a he said/she said as both say the light was green. He said the camera not having a memory card is a bit suspicious and they will probably pay out on it. He also said if you have one, you need to make sure the responding Agency takes the memory card and places it into evidence. If you do not have the responding Agency take it, or if they refuse to, which is most likely the case unless there are major injuries or a fatality, you will have to prove the video was not tampered with or altered. He said he has had folks give them to him afterwards, but they do not use them since they cannot authenticate them as being unaltered. He did say if you are a commercial operator you get a discount for using them, but the camera's are insurer approved. For those reasons, I decided not to get one.

Klueck wrote:
As a former insurance claim adjuster, I would have loved to have had a video camera in some claims to determine fault. If my insured was at fault, I wanted to pay for the claimants damages and if my insured was not at fault, I would have loved to have had proof. Too many times it's he said, she said and each pays for their own when one party was actually at fault. If you screw up, take responsibility.

We have a camera on order. It cost about $60. It's a DVR 207. It had good reviews. It should arrive today. It is small and we'll use it between our MH and the toad.

When I look at the two above commments, it appears confusing. But when dissecting it a bit, I think I have to go with Klueck, as he is speaking with some authority on the subject, having done life work as a claims adjuster. With UsualSuspect, he contacted "someone" with his insurance company who said don't do it. Could have been the mailboy in the mail room.