Making a car accident claim could be better
A survey conducted by insurance brokers Only Insurance, has found that when it comes to making a
car accident claim insurers could be doing more to satisfy customers.
Around 40% of respondents that took part in the survey said they were totally satisfied when
making a claim on their car insurance, while 34 % of people said that when it came to making a claim the service was only OK sometimes. The findings also found that 13% of customers thought that claiming on their car insurance was a bit of a mixed bag with 13% saying more damningly that they only had bad experiences when making a claim.
The findings of the Only Insurance survey seem to indicate that while the majority asked were satisfied when making their car insurance claims there was still a fair bit of scope for insurers to raise their game.
Insurers say that one thing that can make claims easier is if motorist involved in accidents can provide relevant details as soon as possible. A lot of time in delays for claims being processed could be avoided if claimant supply info that insurers need more promptly.
So what can you do as a motorist is you have been involved in an accident? Well, to begin with it's always a good idea to have some things in your glove box in case you have an accident. Along with your insurance docs, a pen, pad and even cheap disposable camera can be really handy.
Immediately after an accident, you should try to note down exactly what happened, drawing a simple picture of how the incident happened, the position of cars on impact and how they ended up. Take pictures of both cars, street angles and road markings, ect. The more information you can collect immediately after an incident, when your memory is still fresh, will make the claim process more straightforward. You should ring the police for them to attend the incident, take details and file an incident report. Also, if there are witnesses write down what they saw and take their details if possible.
If you do not have your certificate of insurance, if anyone at the scene has reasonable grounds to see it. If you do not, you must report the accident at a police station or to a constable as soon as you can and in any case within 24 hours. You'll need to produce your certificate of insurance. If you don't have your certificate of insurance when reporting the accident to the police, you may take it to the police station you nominate when you report the incident. You must do this within seven days of the accident.
Reporting the accident to the police by telephone is not sufficient and you cannot ask someone else to report for you.
You're obliged to do these things not only when you are directly involved in an accident, but also if your vehicle's 'presence' was a factor.
If you have any doubts, we advise you to complete the above steps as soon as the accident happens, regardless of who was at fault.
A failure to comply with these obligations can mean two offences are being committed: failing to stop and failing to report. It is possible to be guilty of either or both. The penalties for each offence include a maximum fine of £5,000 and five to ten penalty points. The court also has the power to disqualify you from driving for either offence and is likely to do so when both offences are committed on the same occasion. Failing to stop or report an accident can carry a maximum of six months' imprisonment.
Even if there was no
personal injury involved, if someone holds you responsible for the accident, they have the right to request your insurance details. This request can be made later; it does not necessarily have to be at the time of the accident. A failure to provide that information without a reasonable excuse is also an offence.
It will also be a condition of your insurance policy that you report the accident to your insurance company within a reasonable time, even if you do not want to claim yourself. A failure to do so can give your insurance company the right to refuse to cover you in the future.
Updated on 5/15/2008