What should you do after an auto accident?
I’ve been working for an auto insurance carrier for just over two years now, and I honestly get frustrated from time to time because people don’t fully understand how the claims process works.
When you are attempting to file a claim on the other party’s insurance, you have to meet the burden of proof if it’s a disputed claim, meaning there’s no clear at-fault party. I was speaking to a driver that was in an accident today and she was hit by my insured, each driver was coming out of a shopping center and the accident occurred in the middle of a median area on the main road.
At this point, all of the information I have is each person’s story of what happened and a police report. Although one driver was issued a citation the officer didn’t see the accident happen, there were no witnesses, scene photos or video.
To help you and your insurance company there are a few things that I would recommend you do, the first starts before you are ever in an accident and that’s getting a dashcam in your vehicle. This Kingslim, dashcam records from the front and rear of your vehicle with an app you can download. This way if God forbid you are in an accident you will have footage of the accident right there on your phone.
Now, let’s say you were just in an accident and you don’t already have a dashcam, what can you do?
I would start, assuming you aren’t too badly injured, by taking photos of the scene of the accident, if you can safely get out of your vehicle and do so. Seeing the positions of the vehicles after the accident can really piece together what happened.
Call the police and get a police report, even if it’s minor. Regardless of whether the police will come out or not I would ask anyone who stops to ask if you’re okay, if they witnessed the accident and see if you can get their contact information. Bear in mind that it could take the police department a long time, maybe even hours to show up depending on the location and severity of the accident and those witnesses probably won’t want to be hanging around to talk to the police, so get their contact information before they leave the scene of the accident.
No witness? And no chance to take scene photos? Another option you have is to canvas the area and see if any of the businesses in the area have cameras that show the accident. Those businesses may not release the recording to you, but if you speak with them they will possibly be able to save it and the insurance company can reach out to the business to get footage.
Just remember, regardless of who is at fault neither party set out to hit the other (in most cases) so, don’t jump out being rude right off the bat, everyone is probably shookup and the polieter you the smoother things will go for everyone involved.
Comment below with any tips you might have after getting in an accident!
