What to Expect When Filing a Car Insurance Claim After an Accident

If you have just been involved in an accident, whether big or small, here are some things to expect before and after filing a claim with your insurance company.

First you will want to make sure no one is injured, if there is injuries make sure help is on the way. File the car accident with the police so that you have a legal accident report. Make sure to limit your discussions about the accident to speaking with the police and your insurance agent.

At the scene make sure to get the information from all involved that your insurance agent will want when you call to file your claim:

• Names

• Addresses

• Phone Numbers

• Description of Car

• License Plate Number

• Vehicle Identification Number

• Insurance Company Information

Since your insurance company handles the claim process as your advocate, file the claim as soon as you possibly can. When you call them they will ask for the information I just mentioned above. Once you have reported the claim, you will then have a claim adjuster contact you that has been assigned to your claim. They will then ask about the damage to vehicles and what happened. Most of the time they will want a recorded statement about the accident from you and those involved. They can do this either in person or over the phone as long as they tell you when they are recording you and when they are not recording you. Make sure to ask questions if you have any, and if you need them to clarify something they said that does not make sense to you. They are there to help you though the claim process.

Also you may have someone from the other persons insurance company call you as well, to get your side of the story. You do not have to speak to them but sometimes it makes the claim process easier if they have all sides of the story from every person involved.

After your claim has been approved you will get a call from your insurance company about sending an adjuster out to assess the damage and to send it to a pre-approved shop for fixing.

If you vehicle has been damaged, the amount you receive will depend on how much you were at fault for damage, plus the type of coverage on your policy. If your vehicle is damaged beyond repair or is in the shop for a period of time you may or may not be covered for a rental vehicle. You should check with your claim adjuster to see if you are covered for a rental before renting a vehicle. However if it's the other persons fault and their insurance company accepts complete fault you will be entitled to a replacement vehicle (for a reasonable length of time), while you vehicle is being repaired. If you do not have loss of use coverage on your policy and you are partially or completely at fault in the accident the cost of your rental may not be fully covered and you will have to pay for it.

In the event of complete damage to your vehicle your insurance company may decide to declare your vehicle a total loss, the way they decide this is they will pay the lower of the following:

• The cost of repair of loss or damage, or

• The "actual cash value" of your vehicle at the time it was damaged.