Insurance Tips on Handling Automobile Accidents

Video: Insurance tips on what you need to do if you are involved in an automobile accident to make your insurance claims process smoother and quicker. Watch now!

If you are in an automobile accident, you need to make sure you exchange and obtain information from everyone involved in the accident. You should also take pictures of all vehicles involved in the accident, when and where possible.

Some of the information you want to make sure you obtain includes:

• A police report, when possible.
• A picture of the other driver’s insurance id card (make sure to check the expiration or effective dates of their insurance) If the policy has expired, you now have the opportunity to ask them for if they’ve renewed their policy and if they still use the same insurance company
• Get a drivers license number and the full name and address of everyone involved.
• Take a picture of the other vehicles tag numbers, and of the damage of all vehicles, including your own.
• If there are any witnesses, try to get their information, if possible.

Never rely on someone else to do the right thing.  As an insurance agent, I’ve heard hundreds of stories of people saying they thought the other party was nice and would do the right thing and that they, the other party, admitted being in the wrong, only to change their story once they’re on the phone with their insurance company making a claim.

I’ve also heard many stories about people saying they had coverage when they had no coverage.  And last but not least, clients telling me the police officer at the scene stating the other party was at fault, when the actual police report or BMV citation stating something different.

As insurance agents, we understand that being in an accident is very stressful and bad situation.  But, we are not in a position to over-ride a police report and cannot supersede any legal document based on anyone’s story no matter how sincere you might be.  So do yourself a favor and make sure you obtain all the information you can so that the claims process will go quickly.