Car accidents can be a frustrating, scary, and time-consuming problem It’s important to remain calm during the entire process and keep your mind sharp. Making an accident claim can be a strenuous task, but it’s vital to help pay for repair costs, damages, and medical fees that might occur as a result. To prepare yourself in case it happens to you, here are some tips you should follow.
Stop and Remain Calm
If the accident has left you dazed, then stop immediately. If you can feel pain, then make sure to remain calm and don’t make any sudden movements that could increase the pain or make the injury worse. It’s an offense to move your car after an accident no matter how minor you might think it is. Never drive off and stay put where you are. Turn off the engine, switch on the hazard lights, and set up a warning triangle some distance away from your car. If someone has been injured, then you need to make sure you phone emergency services and call for an ambulance.
Collect Information
It’s vital that you collection the registration numbers of all vehicles involved in the accident. If anyone tries to escape and drive off, then make sure you take down their license plate numbers first. If the other drivers are cooperative, then take down their phone numbers and addresses as well. If they refuse to give information, then that fact can be used in your claim as well. You’ll also want to take down any car insurance details of other drivers.
Contact Your Insurer
To make your claim stand out, you’ll need to tell your insurer several important pieces of information. Give them everything that you collected during the accident, such as details of the other drivers. If another driver didn’t have insurance, then you can contact the police because it’s required by law for all drivers to have insurance. Make sure your insurer knows every detail that you can give: the time and date, the location, what the weather was like, what happened, and any witnesses that were willing to give a statement.
Photo courtesy of Pexels
Additional Tips
The majority of a claim involves collecting information, however, there are some more pointers that you can follow to make sure that your claim is successful.
Never admit to the accident, especially if you’re unsure what happened. Law firms can assist with even the harshest DUI, DWI, or other similar accidents. Never lie about what happened—especially to your insurer or lawyer, but never admit to anything without proof.
Take plenty of photos. Make sure to include the location as best as you can, and don’t focus just on the damage of your car or your injuries. Take pictures of the surrounding area with the cars in view, photos of license plates, and snap a few shots of the drivers and witnesses that are willing to make a statement.
If your claim is successful, then don’t expect a huge sum of cash as compensation. Wait for your insurer to contact you about what you’ll be awarded. Most of the time, it’ll just be enough to carry out repairs, but in some rare circumstances, they’ll agree to replace your car if it’s suffered a lot of damage. They will also cover medical expenses in case you’re injured.
Leave a Reply