We hope you never get into a car accident or have to make a claim on your insurance. But it's easy for even the most careful and skilled drivers to get into an accident. You'd know what to do, right? If you know what to do after a car accident, it will be easier and faster to file an insurance claim and get back on the road.
If you're in a car crash:
- If you need to, call the police and tell them about the accident. Tell them where you are, how many people are involved, if anyone is hurt, and what kind of injuries they have.
- Try to stay calm, stop your car, and look for people who might be hurt. The lives and health of you, your passengers, and the other people in the accident are much more important than the vehicle itself.
- Driver's license numbers and all of the information on the licenses
- You might want to do what you can to keep yourself and your car from getting hurt more. Move the cars to the side of the road if you can and it's legal to do so. Turn on your hazards as soon as it's safe to do so. If you have flares, you might want to use them to warn oncoming cars and keep more accidents from happening.
- What caused the accident Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words and can help make your point clearer.
- It's a good idea to take lots of notes, like, (a) What kind of damage your car has and where it is. (b) When, where, and how the accident happened. (c) Insurance identifiers, such as the insurance company name and policy number. (d) The names, addresses, and phone numbers of every driver and passenger in the accident. (e)What kind of damage was done to other cars or property. (f) the names, addresses, and ways to get in touch with witnesses. (g) The names and badge numbers of police officers and other first responders
- (It's important to be able to take notes, so keep a pen and paper in your glove box just in case.)
- It's usually a good idea to call your insurance company right away and tell them about the accident. The sooner they know about the crash, the sooner they can start working on your insurance claim. Also, they'll be able to tell you what to do next, like where to have the car towed if you need to, and how to get an adjuster to come to look at the damage before any repairs are made.
- There are a few things you shouldn't do. For example, you shouldn't talk about the limits of your auto insurance policy and you shouldn't talk about who was at fault or how the accident happened to anyone other than the police or a representative of your insurance company.
- You might want to ask the police officer when and where you can get a copy of the accident report. It's likely that you'll need it when you send your insurance company a claim.
- Auto accidents hurt everyone involved in a lot of ways. But if you stay calm, put safety first, and use the tips above, you'll be able to get through being in an accident and filing an insurance claim.
