If you find yourself getting involved in a vehicular accident with another vehicle then you are bound to get in touch with your insurer and the other party’s insurance company. This is to ensure that you get fair and just compensation based on the damage and injury suffered by you, your vehicle, passengers, etc. It is a laborious and tedious task and may not always bear fruit right away.
When filing for car accident insurance claims you should be aware of certain procedures in order not to compromise or jeopardize the results of your application. Here are some tips you can use:
- During a vehicular accident, immediately coordinate with your insurance company. Contacting an insurance agent should be top priority when road or car mishaps occur.
- Educate yourself about the extent of your vehicular coverage by thoroughly reading your car insurance policy. Be informed on what claims you can and cannot apply for.
- Collect as much information as you can about the car accident. Take pictures of the damaged vehicles and jot down information about the other party’s car, like vehicle identification number, model, insurance company, etc. Get the names and contact information of witnesses to the accident, whose accounts later on you can use to substantiate your claims. These pieces of information are vital when applying for car accident insurance claims.
- Keep receipts and billing statements of any expenses that were made as a consequence of the car accident. These may include medical bills for injuries, car repair, and restoration repairs.
- Provide only truthful statements to insurance investigators to facilitate your car accident insurance claim application.
- When providing statements to investigators do not express any opinion regarding which party is liable and just plainly state your pure recollection of the mishap. It is the investigators’ job not yours, to determine which party is most liable based upon prevailing circumstances and evidence.
- Do not put off filing car accident insurance claims. Insurance companies impose grace periods for filing claims and if you are not able to contact them within the prescribed time period you will lose out on any just compensation or claims.
- Under no circumstances should you sign any form of release or waiver. Consult a lawyer for legal advice for any document you are asked to sign that contains ambiguous or vague provisions.
- In cases where the other party proposes settlement for the damages incurred, under no circumstances should you accept any payment unless you find the amount to be just and fair.
