One of the steps in recovering after a traffic accident can be filing an auto insurance claim. These claims can end up getting victims the compensation they need to fix their vehicles and get treatments for their accident-related injuries.
All too often, however, car accident victims end up finding out that the auto accident claims process can be contentious and frustrating, especially if insurance providers are really out to minimize (or try to deny) claims and payouts.
To help victims protect their interests – and potential rights to compensation, below are some of the most important things to do when filing auto accident claims and dealing with insurers following collisions.
The 4 do’s of auto accident claims: What motorists should know
DO stick to the facts and only the facts – Explain where and when the accident took place, as well as what happened before/during/after the crash. Avoid trying to pin the blame on anyone. And, by all means, avoid accepting the blame for the collision. Just stick to the facts.
DO wait to make an official statement if you aren’t ready – Depending on the insurer, you may be asked pretty early on to give an official statement. Make sure you only do this when you are ready to – meaning that you are clear about the facts and you feel well enough. Making official statements to insurers too early can end up backfiring, as people can just blurt things out that they didn’t mean to say, possibly hurting their claim.
DO provide insurers with your photos and/or other evidence – Make sure you give insurers copies of your accident-related pictures and evidence (of course, retaining originals for yourself). Your evidence can impact their determinations, and you want to make sure they have all of the info they need to see things your way and issue a decision in your favor.
DO keep everything insurers send you and avoid signing/cashing anything – Basically, this point goes towards what you should do to protect yourself just in case anything ends up going south with your claim (like an insurer wrongly denies it or seriously undervalues it). The things to keep in case you need to take further action include any correspondence from insurers, notes about calls insurers have made to you, etc. Also, make sure you never sign anything or cash any checks they send you without carefully reviewing them first (ideally, with the insight of an experienced lawyer) because that could be the end of your claim/could mean that you are inadvertently accepting a settlement or ending your claim.