You’re driving down the street, intent on getting to work, and then all of a sudden, someone plows right into your car. Or perhaps, you were day dreaming about the awesome vacation you have planned, don’t see the sea of brake lights, and crash into the bumper of the car in front of you.
There’s no doubt about it, no matter what the cause, you will be in an accident sometime in your life. In 2005 nearly 6.2 million police-reported crashes happened just on highways, that’s one every five seconds. While it’s nice to know you’re not alone when it comes to accidents, the real question remains, what do you do after a crash?
In order to be fully prepared for whatever may arise, drivers should keep an “emergency kit” in their glove compartment. This kit should contain your insurance card, a pen and paper for notes, disposable camera to take photos of the crash scene, medical conditions/allergies card and a list of law enforcement contact numbers.
Move cars to the side of the road, so you’re not blocking traffic. If there are injuries, call 911 immediately.
The very first thing to remember as you get out of your car is to stay calm. Your good old adrenaline is coursing through the body, and might make you want to do crazy things like call the other driver an idiot, or even flee the scene! Take a step back, a few deep breaths and begin your action plan.
The exchange of information
This is always the most difficult step because it involves personalities, plus no one is ever quite sure what information they need to provide to the other party. What is too much? What is not enough?
This handy printout will help you remember. Keep it in your emergency kit. There will be times when you don’t have the handout; in this case you need to get: names, addresses, phone numbers, driver’s license and insurance information of the other driver, their license plate number, make and model of the car. Above all, do not feel weird about asking for any of this information. This information is necessary for the insurance companies to process your claims.
Don’t forget to take a picture of the crash scene with your disposable camera, which is in your glove compartment just for this situation.
What about the police?
Everyone says you should call the police as soon as the crash happens. Perhaps they’ll want to get statements of witnesses and of both drivers. Some insurance companies need police reports for the claims. However, sometimes police won’t even come out to record the accident. The procedure varies from state to state. For example, in Wichita, Kansas, they have an online reporting system to use for when accidents occur on public streets or private parking lots within the City of Wichita. In California, a police report is not required unless the collision results in injury or death.
However, if the damage is more than $500.00 and/or there are injuries, an SR-1 form must be completed and filed with the Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days. (Usually insurance companies take care of this.)
Retired insurance adjuster J.D. Howard, who co-founded the Insurance Consumer Advocate Network, based in Branson West, Missouri, has some excellent advice on this predicament. “There are a lot of jurisdictions where the police officers may try to avoid taking an accident report, assuming that the damage is under $500. Insist on a report. If [officers] won’t file a traffic accident report, insist on an incident report. You want an independent, disinterested record of what happened. You’d be amazed at how often the other driver’s story will change.”
The last thing to do is call your insurance company to report the incident. Howard believes: “generally you should file the claim with your own insurance carrier even if the other party is at fault. Each carrier is obliged to protect the interests of its own insured, making your claim a secondary concern for the other party’s carrier. Chances are you’ll get the service you need more readily from your own carrier.”
Unforeseen Snags
At the site of the accident everything might be going swimmingly with the other driver until you go to exchange insurance information. Some people might not have any insurance, while some might want to work with you instead of the insurance company because they don’t want the accident on their permanent record. There are some people who are willing to go along with this and have a great experience, some have a mediocre experience and there are those who have a horrible experience.
“Michele” had a relatively pain free time of it when she decided to not to involve insurance companies in a minor fender bender. She did have to pay extra for her rental car, since it was outside the monetary amount she and the other party had discussed. Not only was she the innocent party, she was out money. If she had gone through her insurance company, the other party would have been found to be at fault and their insurance would have covered everything, depending on her policy.
Hit and Run
This information is all well and good when you know who hit you. What if you walk out one morning to find your car smashed? And there’s no nice little note leaving insurance information of the driver at fault. What happens next depends on the type of insurance you have with your company.
According to Rates.com” target=”_blank”>Car Insurance Rates.com, “If you are unable to obtain the license plate number of the hit-and-run driver and you do not have full coverage or uninsured motorist insurance, you are basically out of luck. However, if you have full coverage and uninsured motorist insurance, you will be able to file a hit-and-run claim, but, you will not be able to recoup the cost of your deductible.”
It all comes down to the kind of insurance you buy. Armed with this information, getting full coverage or uninsured motorist insurance might be worth the few extra bucks in the long run After all, when 11 percent of all vehicle accidents are hit-and-runs, a little protection goes a long way.
The Wrap Up
There are more than 247,421,120 registered cars on the road according to a 2005 statistic from the Bureau of Transportation. An accident is bound to happen with that many cars and drivers, it’s only a matter of time.
If your glove compartment is stocked with your handy dandy cheat sheet, your insurance card, and a disposable camera, you should be able to think clearly and get the information you need from the other party. Just remember, the other person is just as freaked out about the accident as you are. You should work together to ensure the information exchange goes smoothly, and tempers don’t flare. It is a volatile situation and there’s bound to be blame, but it is for the insurance companies to sort out, not you.
No one wants to get into an accident, but if you follow the steps you should be in good shape for a relatively stress free exchange.
Resources:
1. Test
2. Edmunds.com
3. Wichita.gov
4. Fostercity.org
5. Bankrate.com
6. Bankrate.com
7. Carinsurancerates.com
8. Pjstar.com
9. Bts.gov