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Whether you have been involved in an accident and endured the insurance claims process before or you are one of the lucky few to be accident-free, here are six key tips from insurance claims professionals to help you make sure that your claim is paid and that you get everything that you are entitled to. Some of these tips you may have heard before, though you may not have known why they are so important, and others are true insider tips.
1. At the scene, try to stay calm, and take pictures of everything. No, not everyone hauls a camera around with them wherever they go, but almost everyone has a cell phone and most of them take pictures that will do just fine. Take pictures of the cars, the scene, the roadway, any sight obstructions, the other driver and even their passengers if they have any. Do this whether the accident was the other driver's fault or yours. It preserves evidence and prevents fraud. You may need those pictures later to prove who was at fault, as well as who was involved in the accident and who was not. This is just as important as obtaining the other person's information since a good photograph of a license plate proves involvement and a simple tag trace provides a wealth of information.
2. Call the police. Do this no matter how nice the other driver seems to be at the scene; things could change later. People aren't so willing to admit blame when they realize the impact it might have on their insurance rates. Don't let minor damage deter you either; you cannot see through your bumper or any other part for that matter to see what damage may be there underneath. The police will write a report even on seemingly minor accidents and that report also preserves evidence. At the very least, there will be a record of your call.
3. Report the accident to your insurance company immediately no matter who appears to be at fault. Even if the other driver admits that he caused the accident there at the scene, he may change his mind later. You pay your insurance premium; let your company work for you as your advocate. If you were at fault, you want your insurance company involved as soon as possible so that things don't get out of control. All insurance companies require that you cooperate with the investigation of an accident or risk having coverage denied for it; that includes reporting the occurrence in a timely manner.
4. Don't be in such a hurry to settle that personal injury claim. Even a small claim can be worth more if you just have patience. Just like car salesmen have monthly quotas, insurance adjusters have monthly settlement goals. Your claim may be the one they choose to put a little more money on at the end of the month just to settle it. The longer a personal injury claim remains open, the more it costs the insurance company in terms of adjuster salary and bank reserves (an insurance company needs to set aside a certain amount of money for each personal injury claim, removing that money from investment revenue opportunities). They want to settle. Some adjusters may try to tell you that they will just close the claim without payment if they don't settle or hear from within a certain time frame. The fact is that whether they close it or not, you have until the statute of limitations expires in your state to finalize your claim, and the adjuster will just have to reopen it when you are ready to settle.
5. Read everything before you sign it. It may seem tedious, but read that repair estimate line by line so that you know exactly what you are agreeing to. Even forms that the adjuster tells you are "standard" can be customized depending on how badly they want your signature; just cross out a clause that is bothersome. Medical authorizations don't need to include years of prior medical records, especially if your claim is small and/or the records are irrelevant. Settlement releases should only have wording regarding the specific portion of the claim being settled. Personal injury claim releases do not need to mention property damage, and vice versa. The same goes for those settlement checks.
6. Know your own limitations. Many people can navigate the insurance claims process themselves. However, if you are seriously injured, grieving or simply dealing with an adjuster who is unprofessional (the majority are professionals but they are human like the rest of us), it may be time to ask someone else to step in so that you can concentrate on healing, whether that be physically or emotionally. Then it is time to call on the help of a family member, friend, or even an attorney.
1. At the scene, try to stay calm, and take pictures of everything. No, not everyone hauls a camera around with them wherever they go, but almost everyone has a cell phone and most of them take pictures that will do just fine. Take pictures of the cars, the scene, the roadway, any sight obstructions, the other driver and even their passengers if they have any. Do this whether the accident was the other driver's fault or yours. It preserves evidence and prevents fraud. You may need those pictures later to prove who was at fault, as well as who was involved in the accident and who was not. This is just as important as obtaining the other person's information since a good photograph of a license plate proves involvement and a simple tag trace provides a wealth of information.
2. Call the police. Do this no matter how nice the other driver seems to be at the scene; things could change later. People aren't so willing to admit blame when they realize the impact it might have on their insurance rates. Don't let minor damage deter you either; you cannot see through your bumper or any other part for that matter to see what damage may be there underneath. The police will write a report even on seemingly minor accidents and that report also preserves evidence. At the very least, there will be a record of your call.
3. Report the accident to your insurance company immediately no matter who appears to be at fault. Even if the other driver admits that he caused the accident there at the scene, he may change his mind later. You pay your insurance premium; let your company work for you as your advocate. If you were at fault, you want your insurance company involved as soon as possible so that things don't get out of control. All insurance companies require that you cooperate with the investigation of an accident or risk having coverage denied for it; that includes reporting the occurrence in a timely manner.
4. Don't be in such a hurry to settle that personal injury claim. Even a small claim can be worth more if you just have patience. Just like car salesmen have monthly quotas, insurance adjusters have monthly settlement goals. Your claim may be the one they choose to put a little more money on at the end of the month just to settle it. The longer a personal injury claim remains open, the more it costs the insurance company in terms of adjuster salary and bank reserves (an insurance company needs to set aside a certain amount of money for each personal injury claim, removing that money from investment revenue opportunities). They want to settle. Some adjusters may try to tell you that they will just close the claim without payment if they don't settle or hear from within a certain time frame. The fact is that whether they close it or not, you have until the statute of limitations expires in your state to finalize your claim, and the adjuster will just have to reopen it when you are ready to settle.
5. Read everything before you sign it. It may seem tedious, but read that repair estimate line by line so that you know exactly what you are agreeing to. Even forms that the adjuster tells you are "standard" can be customized depending on how badly they want your signature; just cross out a clause that is bothersome. Medical authorizations don't need to include years of prior medical records, especially if your claim is small and/or the records are irrelevant. Settlement releases should only have wording regarding the specific portion of the claim being settled. Personal injury claim releases do not need to mention property damage, and vice versa. The same goes for those settlement checks.
6. Know your own limitations. Many people can navigate the insurance claims process themselves. However, if you are seriously injured, grieving or simply dealing with an adjuster who is unprofessional (the majority are professionals but they are human like the rest of us), it may be time to ask someone else to step in so that you can concentrate on healing, whether that be physically or emotionally. Then it is time to call on the help of a family member, friend, or even an attorney.
Faye Counts (SCLA, MBA) has over 20 years in the personal injury claims handling industry. She is a contributing writer for insuranceclaimshelpforyou.com.
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