Car Insurance Claims: Advice Worth Knowing About

No one likes to file an insurance claim with the car insurance company; however, car insurance claims advice that can help you avoid many of the hassles associated with claims and help to speed claim processing is always appreciated. So, here are some tips to follow when making a claim with your car insurance company.

Call the Insurance Company Right Away

If you are involved in an automobile accident, call 911 and request assistance or emergency help, and then call your insurance company right away. Don't wait until you are at home or away from the scene of the accident. Contact your insurance company and ask them what you should do. Most of the time, the insurance company will inform you to call for help if needed, and then make sure to get information from the other drivers and parties involved in the accident. Make sure to keep your car insurance ID card in your glove box so that you always have access to your insurance company's telephone number.

Always Take Pictures

If you have not already done so, go out and buy a disposable 35mm camera and stick it in your car's glove box. If you're involved in an accident, you want to take pictures of damage to your vehicle as well as physical injuries to yourself or other passengers in your vehicle. Take pictures of anything and everything that you feel is pertinent to the car accident. If your cellular phone has a camera, you don't necessarily need to keep a camera in your glove box; however, 35mm pictures from a disposable camera are usually more easily developed than pictures from your cell phone.

Reporting a Stolen Vehicle

If you walk out one day to find that your vehicle is missing or stolen, call the police right away. After you call the police, make sure that you request a police officer come down and take a statement and issue a police report. Before the police officer even arrives, contact the car insurance company. Since the car insurance ID card was probably left in your vehicle's glove box, make sure that you have your car insurance company's telephone number written down on a piece of paper and keep it in your wallet or purse.

A convenient place to keep this number is with your list of other important telephone numbers or emergency contact information. Keeping the telephone number on you will allow you to call the insurance company as soon as you notice the vehicle is missing, rather than having to wait until you get home where you may not be able to accurately describe the location where your vehicle was stolen.

Consider Not Filing a Claim

If you are involved in a very minor accident or fender bender, and there is not a whole lot of damage to your vehicle, you may want to consider not filing a claim at all. Although you may not be a mechanic and know a whole lot about car repair, if the damage doesn't appear to be too serious—it usually isn't. Consider how much your deductible is and if the repair will cost less or even just a little bit more than your deductible. Filing a claim that doesn't pay out for significant damage will only usually increase your insurance rates and may cost you more than you save.

Keep Copies of Everything

If you're involved in a car accident, keep copies of police reports, repair estimates, bills and anything else that you even think might be important. Also, when submitting documents to your insurance company, you should try to avoid sending the originals. If the insurance company does require original documents, make sure that you make two or three very clear and legible copies for your own records.