What Should You Do After an Accident to Make Sure Your Car Insurance Claim is Paid?
By Anthony Peck
Being involved in a car accident can be a very discombobulating experience. Everything seems surreal-the lights, the people, the fact that your car now looks like an accident victim! At times like these it’’s hard to think about things like car insurance. Unfortunately, this is exactly the time when you need to be thinking about what your insurance provider is going to need to be able to pay your claim.
While you”re at the scene of the accident there are a few things you need to do to make your car insurance claim flow as smoothly as possible. First and foremost, if you”re both able it’’s important to give your name, address and insurance information to the other driver, and make sure you get theirs in return. It’’s also important to get the names, addresses and phone numbers of any witnesses that can testify about what happened-you never know when the very nice driver whose name and address you just took is going to completely deny their culpability, leaving you without options when it comes to getting their car insurance to pay for it.
After the accident you need to immediately do three things to make sure that their car insurance and yours pay for everything they”re supposed to-and that your car insurance claim doesn”t spend months tied up in red tape. First and foremost, get checked out by a doctor. Even if it feels like all you have are bumps and bruises it’’s worth the visit. You never know what’’s going to pop up a few days later-what seems like a simple bruise at the base of your spine can turn out to be major nerve traumatization that can lay you up for weeks and turn into a chronic problem in the long term. If a doctor doesn”t have the accident on file you may find yourself on the opposite end of a savvy lawyer that wants to prove the accident had nothing to do with your injuries.
The next thing you want to do is make sure you”ve got an accident report on file with local law enforcement that your car insurance company can refer to. Many people make the mistake of thinking that a police officer has to be on the scene to file an accident report. If that were the case, justice wouldn”t get anything done because they”d be too busy trying to handle all of the fender benders that take place on the local highways every year! If you”ve been in an accident that wasn”t bad enough to bring the rescue teams in force and you both just drove away, contact the DMV or your local sheriff’’s office and ask for the paperwork you need to file your own accident report. In the long run, you”ll be glad you did.
Finally, you need to contact your car insurance provider. It’’s important to let your insurer know within 24 hours that you”ve been in an accident. They really hate it when the other driver’’s insurance company calls them up making demands and they don”t know what’’s going on! Every insurance company has an experienced claims representative that will be able to help you get the damages on your car appraised and use the information you”ve gathered to help you settle your claim as quickly, quietly and painlessly as possible.
About The Author
Anthony M. Peck is the Senior Developer, Software Project Manager, and Director of Business Development for QuoteScout.com. For more information about filing a car insurance claim, please visit them on the web at http://www.QuoteScout.com.