Making a Car Insurance Claim

Having an accident and making a claim on your car insurance

Road accidents can happen no matter how good a driver you think you are – there are always others to account for on the road, you never know when a car could just pull out of nowhere. Therefore it makes good sense to have in your mind the procedure to follow if you ever have an accident. By remembering a simple procedure this should reduce stress at the time of accident (whilst it is still stressful, if you have a plan of action it can mitigate against stress effects of ‘the unknown’) and stress afterwards and as the information for making a claim on your car insurance is accessible, without unnecessary chasing around having to be conducted.

Good procedural points to remember on having an accident are:

Keep calm – whilst this is easy in practice, in reality you, may have to concentrate on doing this. After all if you have an accident out of nowhere it can be extremely startling and your adrenaline will be pumping. However by becoming panicked you could put yourself in further danger (remember you will probably be next to a road with passing traffic which can be hazardous). So keep a clear head.

Obtain details for your car insurance claim – the company providing your car insurance cover may require details from the other party involved in the accident. Such as contact details, vehicle registration and details of insurer. It is good practice to obtain these for the next step in following up claims with your insurance company.

Making a claim with your car insurance company – inform your insurer as soon as possible after the accident occurs. This should not be a problem to contact them as most companies, especially the larger firms, have customer service contact centres which are open twenty four hours a day. You may have to give them some basic information and then your insurance company will send you a accident report form. You must fill this in and return back to them to continue processing your claim. If you have problems at any stage, or wish to clarify details simply speak to your car insurer. This will save the potential of any problems on the form and having to submit again, delaying the process and potential settlement even further. Good practice, again, is to know in advance the stages your particular car insurance company makes in assessing claims.