Guide to Filing a Car Insurance Claim

Car insurance is purchased so that, in the event of a car accident, you are protected from having to pay exorbitant amounts of money to fix any damages to vehicles and property involved (regardless of fault). Car insurance also covers the costs of medical care should there be physical harm from the car accident. The costs of fixing car and property damage, as well as paying off any medical care, are addressed in the filed car insurance claim.

While no one wishes to be involved in a car accident, such things do occasionally happen. Here are step-by-step instructions on what you will need to do in order to file a car insurance claim in the event of a car accident.

1.Do not admit fault. If you are involved in a car accident, do not admit it was your fault to the other drivers and/or passengers. Doing so opens you up to possible future litigation. Instead, simply find out if the other involved parties are physically hurt and then call the police and/or ambulance.

2. Do not leave the scene. Never leave the scene of an accident without calling the police first. Even if other involved parties say that they will cover the cost of the accident or that they are physically fine, you may be held liable for leaving the scene of an accident if the proper authorities are not notified. If it is absolutely impossible or inconvenient to call the police (e.g., you had the car accident in the middle of an intersection), then at least leave your contact and car insurance information with the other drivers.

3. Call your insurance company immediately. Do not delay contacting your insurance company as soon as possible. Be sure to state where the accident occurred, who was involved and the date and time of the accident. You insurance company will probably ask you to estimate the amount of property or physical damage involved.

4.Follow through on all requests from your insurance company. Your insurance company may send you documents and/or photos to look over and sign. This is because there are many false or overstated claims of property and/or medical damage from injured parties. Insurance companies will obtain as many witness statements as possible before they begin paying out the car insurance claims to injured parties.

5. Expect an insurance rate increase. While not true in all cases, your insurance company may raise your insurance rate if you file a car insurance claim. Alternately, some companies will raise your deductible amount.