If you drive frequently or regularly, you’re bound to have, at the very least, a minor fender bender at some point in your driving career. You may not contact another vehicle, but property damage may occur, and you need to know what to do in any of these circumstances.
From the simplest of occurrences, like clipping the garage door, to a serious collision with another vehicle, traffic laws and insurance company protocol will guide you along the path to a satisfactory refurbishing of your most important key to independence: your wheels. Although an incident is upsetting, knowing you have a personally-tailored insurance policy to protect you will give rise to resignation and you’ll get through it.
For minor damage to your vehicle where no other vehicle and no public property is involved, you will want to decide how serious the damage is and if it requires a professional repair job, and if so, how much it might cost. You may want to confirm what your deductible is, if you haven’t had a claim in 10 years or more because they can change. If you decide you don’t want to pay for the damage repair yourself, tell your insurance company and they’ll get you to complete the necessary paperwork to file a claim. Be prepared to pay that deductible.
If you are in a collision involving another vehicle, most laws would advise you to remove your vehicles from the road if no fatality or serious injury is involved so traffic can keep moving. If it’s a serious injury situation, the police must be contacted and you’ll be directed as to how to proceed from there. If neither of you accept fault for the collision, see if you can get the contact information for any witnesses who may agree to vouch for your situation.
Whether you can agree on who is at fault or not, in a minor collision both drivers must exchange information pertaining to their respective insurance coverage; agent contact information and policy number as well as name, address and phone number. Note the make, model and color, as well as the license plate number and if out of state, for which state.
Where no police are on the scene, your next step will be to visit a collision reporting center to complete the specifics of the altercation, like the nearest intersection, a diagram showing the traveling direction of the vehicles, point of contact, and a description of what transpired. The incident report will go on file with the police and a police report number assigned to your case for tracking purposes.
You’ll then need to contact your insurance company or agent and give them the information so they can establish fault and the fine, if applicable, contact the other party’s insurance, and decide what will be done if they honor your claim. You and your insurance company or agent will be in close touch after that to expedite the repair of your vehicle.
An estimator acting on behalf of your insurer may want to see your vehicle to get a first-hand idea of the damage and establish a ball-park repair cost. Once you have a police file number, you can contact an auto body shop for an estimate. You will want to look into the reputation of several auto bodies if you’ve never used one before, and have your choice approved by the insurance company.
You’ll also want to stipulate what kind of aftermarket parts may be used to repair your car and be sure the auto body quote references your choice and that your insurance company has agreed to your choice of parts, according to the policy. The insurance company will usually deal directly with the auto body or repair shop to complete the work agreed upon by you and the insurer.
If you’re covered for the loss of use of your vehicle so that you have a rental car to drive while yours is in the shop, you can look into a date to get your vehicle into the shop as soon as your insurance company has given the go-ahead and advised what they will pay.
At some point you will need to remit to the auto body any deductible you are responsible for paying, but payment is usually done on completion of the job when you pick up your vehicle. When you are satisfied that the repair is satisfactory and the vehicle is operating as it was prior to the accident, you can give the okay to your agent or insurance agency and they will pay for the repair.
Just because you drive away from the repair shop doesn’t mean your vehicle is now restored properly, however. In some cases there is damage that was not at first discovered and if you find your car is not handling properly, is making odd noises or just isn’t right for any reason, you need to contact your insurance company immediately. It’s possible that frame damage may have occurred, motor-mounts may have broken, or any number of freak collateral damages that no one suspected.
Your insurance company is obligated to return your car to its pre-accident condition before closing the file. That’s what you pay for. Stick with it and continue diplomatic communications with them until you’re satisfied it’s right. This is where the practice of keeping highly organized files of all your car servicing and repairs comes in handy—possibly even a spreadsheet. You may be called upon to prove that your vehicle was in perfect running condition prior to impact.