At the Accident Scene
1. Who did I have an accident with?
Be sure to get complete information from the other party(ies) involved.
This means copying down their address, driver’s license #, date of
birth, and ask for their phone number. In addition, obtain their
insurance information including, the company, policy #, agent if there
is one, the policy begin and expiration date and their phone #. You need
to make sure that you have as much info as possible to give your
insurance company; this will help get your claim resolved as fast as
possible.
2. Were there any witnesses? Was
there anyone who saw the accident happen? You want to make sure that you
get information from anyone who saw the accident. This will assist the
insurance companies to determine who is liable for the accident.
3. Were the police called? If the
police were called or showed up, make sure to get the name and badge # of the
officer and a report number. It may take your insurance company up to 3
months to get a police report, so be sure you take the information but
don’t rely on the insurance company getting the information.
4. What kind of vehicle or vehicles were involved in this
accident? You want to make sure that you get the vehicle year,
make and model, the license plate #, and VIN number for each vehicle
involved.
5. Where did this happen? Get the
intersection or street that the accident happened on. Also, you want to
make sure that you know how many lanes are on each side of the street,
if the street or streets are 1 way or 2 way, the type of striping on the
pavement within 100 feet each direction of the loss, i.e. is it a solid,
double yellow line, a white line, etc. Also, you want to know where each
vehicle impacted, what lane you and the other car were driving in just
before the accident, the direction of travel for each vehicle, and if
there were any signs posted that control traffic flow.
6. How many passengers were in each vehicle?
Take note of how many people were in each of the vehicles involved. Once
you know, make a brief note of their description or name including:
ethnicity, gender, weight, height, etc. This will help if you are the
victim of a staged accident or other type of insurance fraud since
people sometimes mysteriously are reported as an occupant of the vehicle
when they were not present. This is not common, but if it ever does
happen, this will help you avoid being a victim.
7. What type of condition was the car in right after
the accident? Was the vehicle drivable? Where is
the damage? Is there any additional damage on the vehicle not related to
the accident? If there is additional damage on the vehicle not related
to this accident, be sure to tell your insurance company.
8. Where do I want to get my vehicle repaired?
If you have a shop in mind, have that information with
you. If you don’t, ask around, your friends might have a good
recommendation. Otherwise, you can ask your insurance company if they
have a repair program. If they do have one, be sure to ask about the
program’s warranty, cost, and if there is a benefit to using it.
9. Write down all the information.
Record all the information that you have gathered and keep it in a
safe place. This is to assist you if there is a problem with the claim.
When you report it, be sure to write down who you spoke with, your claim
#, and what if any promises were made. This will make your life easier
if someone says something and then it doesn’t happen.
10. Take pictures of the accident right after it
occurred. Take a photo of your vehicle and the
other vehicle(s) involved including all 4 corners. Also, if you can get
the other party in the photo, that will help in the event that either
insurance company needs help identifying the other party involved.
If you have a claim that needs to be filed, the above items are
good to gather since it will make the process easier and assist your
insurance adjuster to resolve your claim at a faster pace. The insurance
adjuster(s) you will deal with each have a job, it is to resolve as many
claims as they can in the least amount of time possible. As a
result, the more information you can give him or her, the smoother the
process will be.
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