Tips for Claiming a Car Accident

Photo from the Calgary Herald- yesterday's bad road conditions.

As you’re likely all aware, I’m currently employed as a claims assistant with an insurance company’s Calgary branch.  While I don’t claim to understand all the ins and outs of the insurance industry, there are a few things I’ve learned in the course of my two months’ employment, primarily to do with beginning the claims process after an incident.

Because we had such awful weather here yesterday (and, according to the brokers I spoke to, throughout much of Southern Alberta), I am anticipating a large stack of claims to go through on Monday when I go back to work.  My coworkers and I go through all sorts of accident reports and input them into the system, and there’s nothing more frustrating than finding out we’re missing information or have incorrect information.  So here are a couple of tips to make things easier for your insurance company to get your claim started and get you on the way to getting a cheque in the mail!

1. At the Accident

After getting into an accident, it’s really easy to be a little scatter-brained, or worse if there are injuries.  However, starting your claim requires certain information, so here’s what you need to get (at least for my company- can’t be all that different for others, I’d imagine):

• The location of the accident.  Not just "Calgary", but specific streets or intersections if possible.
• The time of the accident- pretty simple.
• If there is another vehicle or person involved in the accident- known as the third party- make sure you get all their information, including…
• The third party’s name- make sure you have it spelled correctly.  If the third party driver is not the owner of the car, get the owner’s name as well.
• The third party’s insurance information- this means the company name (not the broker) and their policy number.  Ask to see their insurance information to make sure you have all the correct numbers.
• The third party’s vehicle information- year, make, and model.  Many policies have more than one vehicle on them, and most insurance companies do NOT store licence plate numbers or vehicle colors.
• That said, get the third party licence plate anyway, as it will be necessary if you have to make a police report.
• The third party’s phone number.
• Names of any injured parties, and their contact information.
• Names and contact information for any witnesses.  A good witness is someone who was not involved in the accident themselves- a passenger in your vehicle does not count as a witness.
• If police attend the scene, or you later report it to them, get the report number.  It makes it much easier for adjusters to order reports!

2.  After the Accident

This part will vary between insurance companies, but here are a couple general tips to make life easier.  If you incur any expenses related to your accident before you have a chance to talk to your insurance company, keep receipts- you may be able to get reimbursed for them (such as car rental costs or repair costs).  Make sure you are able to be reached, as an insurance adjuster (the person at the company responsible for handling your claim) will need to get a statement from you describing the accident before they can proceed with anything else. 

Also, if you’re not sure whether to report the accident to your insurance company, call your broker- they will be able to advise you.  I don’t know much myself about how much premiums will go up if you make a claim- that’s not my department at all- but often times we receive letters called "third party demands".  These are sent to us from the third party’s insurance company, usually when our customer has not reported an accident, and when we receive these, we have to set up a claim anyway.  So if you think the third party will be reporting it, you should probably report it too- it’ll save you some grief later.

Although this is in no way a comprehensive account on the claims process, at least this will help you make sure it gets started off on the right foot!  Everyone drive safe out there!