Car Insurance - In the Event of an Accident (Part 2)

The following article continues the points made in part 1, detailing the steps that should be taken following a car accident.

Assuming you are not in an unfit state then now is the time to contact your insurance company if you have not already. The majority of insurance companies are used to receiving calls from those not long involved in road accidents and are therefore quite sympathetic and helpful.

To begin with you will simply need to inform your insurance company, who will then begin their inquires; here you will be issued with a claims reference number that should be used in any further correspondence.

Although you may not feel up to it, now is the best time to thoroughly detail the events of the accident. In the weeks following the accident you will be required to complete a highly detailed police questionnaire, which will have to be a sound and accurate description of what happened. Chances are you will also be required to sketch out on paper what happened, making particular note of road layouts, speed limits etc.

At the same time of completing the questionnaire you will also have to decide whether or not you would like to prosecute the other party(s).

Many choose to leave this to the police, assuming that they will have collected all of the required details. More often than not though, they do not; and the information you collect here will be vital in helping both you and your insurer down the line.

If any injuries develop or become apparent following the accident then it’s important the police are informed immediately. You are given a maximum of 24 hours in which you can be issued with an Accident Number.

You may have mixed feelings about returning to the road after an accident, however many believe that it is best to get back behind the wheel as soon as you can. Therefore, if your car was deemed unusable in the accident and a car hire was not arranged through your insurance you will have to arrange your own hire.

The cost of this will form part of your car insurance claim if you are not held responsible. As you can probably imagine hiring a car for the duration it can take to get your main method of transport reinstated can prove quite costly, for this reason it is important you have adequate car insurance. Cheap car insurance deals can be easily sourced online.