Auto Insurance Claims: Top 10 Items You Need When You Make A Claim

Top 10 Items You Need When You Make A Claim:

 
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 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.

by Darryl Lee

What are the common mistakes related to Automobile claims that you should avoid?

When you are someone who is crazy about your car, you would no doubt have gotten the best possible insurance policy on it to ensure that it stays that way. When you have an unfortunate accident, every thought leaves your head and you are completely shaken up and wondering how bad your car looks like at the moment, sometimes that’s what you think about even before checking how badly hurt you are. When things are calmer however, you realize that you have to gather all the information you need to file for an insurance claim. Many drivers end up jeopardizing this process even before they get started on it.

The first mistake most drivers make is not collecting insurance information from the other driver. You may have found the other person to be totally apologetic and he or she may have volunteered to pay for damages in cash. Irrespective of the promises extracted, make sure you have the pertinent insurance information to contact immediately after. Waiting it out will tend to blur the details and make the claim more difficult. You are paying a premium every month on your insurance, get things started immediately if you want to get the claim.

Call your "Insurance Agent" for direction on reporting your claim!

Another common mistake drivers make when it comes to auto insurance claims is not calling up their company to ask about what needs to be done. Most people have refrained from ever calling their company back to raise any questions about claims after all the horror stories about how rates have changed overnight for many folks reach their ears. When you hear such tales, you must understand that this is not the case for every company and for the good ones, they do answer your queries without any complications. There are even laws in place to protect consumer interests in such cases.

Giving an honest statement is an important part of your insurance claims. Some people make a horrible mistake by exaggerating details and trying to get more of a payout. Your insurance claims investigator will talk to the other party, witnesses and will also examine the statement issued by the police. An attempt at dishonesty will only end up with you having to pay for it. Don’t try to change, distort or add to the facts. Just give them an honest feedback and accounting of what happened and things will work out smoothly for you. Report quickly and give a clear picture of what happened, nothing more, nothing less.