My Insurance or Yours?

So you've had an accident. You've exchanged information and parted ways with the other driver involved. Phew, the most stressful part is already over. Now you get home, sit down with your pen, paper and notes you took at the scene. What next? Do you call your local agent? Your insurance claims center? or do you call the other driver's insurance company? Do you always have to report it to your insurance company? All great questions, let's go over a few scenarios.

You were in an accident with one other vehicle. It was clear you were at fault. Oops! Everybody makes mistakes, it happens to the best of us. What next?

This is when you would make a claim on your insurance policy. Some people prefer to call their local agent if they have one. This is a person who you may have met face to face, and they can help explain the claims process. Other people may not have an agent at all, or just prefer to call the claims center directly. Either way works great. A lot of my customers will call us first. Your body shop is also a great point of contact and can help you through the next steps.

So you have choices! But one thing is for sure, you were at fault and the accident is reported to your insurance company. Making the claim involves a few things, check out our next post for more info on Starting a Claim with Your Insurance.

You were in an accident with one other vehicle. It was clear the other party was at fault. What next?

This scenario also has choices. Choices are good! No matter who is at fault, if you have full coverage, you can always call your own insurance company or agent. They will make a claim for you and try to contact the other insurance company. If it is clear that the other driver was in the wrong, especially if they admit that at the scene, then you can call their insurance company and start a claim using the policy number and information you took down just after the accident. For more on filing with another parties insurance company, see our post Starting a Claim with Another Parties Insurnace

Olsen Auto Body is a great point of contact if you're not sure what to do after an accident. We've seen it all, every scenario imaginable. Call us and we can guide you through the next steps.