How to Talk to Your Insurance

Regardless of whether you’ve experienced one before, car accidents are scary. In addition to being a stressful, often traumatic event, you also have to deal with what comes afterward, which can include dealing with some type of insurance claim.

While we hope you deal with as few accidents as possible over the course of your lifetime, it’s important to be prepared for the possibility. Hopefully this article can help you understand the steps to take in the event that you are ever in that position.

First, you’ll need to know who was at fault in the accident. Be sure to determine this before you leave the scene, and take down the other driver’s information. Get your car to an auto body shop if it’s still drivable. If not, you’ll have to ask the towing company to release it, and your repair shop will collect it.

If you’re at fault—and if you have collision coverage—you’ll need to contact your insurer. The phone number to do so can be found on your insurance card.

Keep your card handy while you’re on the phone, because you’ll need to know your policy number and your VIN. Other information you’ll need to know is the date, location, and the names of any others involved in the accident. At the end of this, you’ll get a claim number that you’ll need to give to the auto body shop.

If you aren’t at fault, you can do two things.

If you have collision coverage, you can call the claim into your insurance company and provide the same information as above. This will allow you to get your car fixed faster, but you’ll have to pay your deductible out of pocket.

Otherwise, you can wait until the police report is filed. Then you can call the claim in to the other insurer using the insurance code on the report. This way, you won’t be responsible for covering the deductible.

Hopefully this information helps you get back on the road in no time. And if you need to find the right insurance policy for you, check out our tool, which allows you to find and compare quotes with the click of a button.