What To Do at a Car Accident Scene for Insurance Purposes

RyanD
August 19, 2013

When a person is in a car accident, there are many different things that they will need to take into account. First and foremost, one of the driver’s in the accident should immediately get in contact with emergency personnel. It’s important that 911 is called as soon as possible to send the necessary ambulance, fire truck, and police officers.

Contact Law Enforcement

Once the local law enforcement gets to the scene of any car accidents, they will ask each of the drivers that were involved in the crash their side of the story. It’s crucial that the police officer is able to determine who was at fault for the accident, if anyone was at all. After the peace officer files a police report, and issues a ticket, if applicable, the parties are free to leave the scene. However, this might be easier said than done. Those who might have had their vehicles crashed to the point where they are inoperable, or unsafe to drive, will have to contact a towing company to tow the vehicle to a tow yard.

Talk to Witnesses

If people get the chance, they should also talk to any witnesses that were around when they were in a crash. Witnesses are a crucial component of helping to ensure that a person is guilty, or not guilty in the judge’s eyes. There might sometimes be disagreements between drivers of who was at fault. If possible, document the scene with a camera. Smartphones often have cameras that can take good pictures of the car accident. Try to take multiple pictures showing the different angles of where you were in the car accident.

Typically, a judge will side with seemingly trustworthy witnesses on the account of what happened. After the police are done speaking with the driver, they may go and obtain names, and numbers of witnesses that were nearby. Aside from getting information from witnesses, the drivers that were involved in the accidents should provide their information to each other for insurance purposes.

Collect Insurance Information

The information that will need to be gathered includes insurance policies, license plate numbers, make and model of the vehicles, names, and addresses. There might also be times when the police officer gathers information for the drivers instead of them getting it themselves. This helps to avoid confrontations, or arguments that might arise.

Record the Accident Details

After the person is to get home, the next step for them should be to immediately write down how the accident happened, according to them in their own words. This is helpful for the person’s insurance agent when they call to file a claim.

Contact Your Insurance Provider

The next step is for the person to call their insurance agent, and let them know they’ve been involved in an accident, along with the details. The insurance agent will be in contact with the person, back and forth as needed. Furthermore, the driver might also need to respond to the court to pay their ticket fine, if they were found at fault. If so, they must report to the clerk of the court to pay their applicable fine on the due date. This process can be difficult, and it may be wise to contact an attorney. A personal injury attorney will handle the negotiations with the insurance company, and will work hard to get you a fair settlement from the insurance company.

File a State Accident Report

Afterwards, one of the last things that a person might be required to do is to file a state accident report. This might be required if anyone was injured, or if there was major damage to a vehicle. A state accident report will go on a driver’s record, and is mandatory if it is required; generally, people have up to ten days to successfully file their state accident report.