QUESTION: “What do I do after an accident?”
This may seem like an easy answer to some, but after you’ve just been in an accident, even if it’s minor, you may not be thinking clearly. These are steps you should always take (and some bonus steps) that will help to streamline your claim and get you back on track faster.
- Always….and I mean always….call the police. Even if the other person says not to, or if no one is hurt, or if it’s just a small scratch, call the police. Let them decide whether or not they are going to come to the scene.
- While you’re waiting for the cops, get the other person’s information—this includes full name of owner and driver, dates of birth, driver’s license number, car details, license plate numbers and, of course, their insurance information, including company name and policy number. Their local agent information is helpful too.
- Call us! If it’s during business hours, we can always help. But if it’s 9:00 PM on a Friday evening, you don’t have to wait until we are back in the office to keep things moving. You can call your insurance company directly to submit the claim any time. We will get notification of what happened and can touch base with you to answer any questions you might have.
- BONUS—The cops may give you a copy of their on-site report, but they may not. If you get a copy of this, you can get it to us so we can forward it to the right person.
- BONUS—If you have a smart phone, snap some digital photos of the scene. These can always be emailed to us or to your claims adjuster if needed and can help when there is a question of who is responsible.
Once you’ve done all of this, you’ve done what you can to get the ball rolling. Remember, the more information you get, the better!!
