Should I Call My Insurance If My Car Accident Wasn’t My Fault?

You have recently been in a car accident and you are certain you didn’t cause it. Should you still call your insurance if it wasn’t your fault? Yes, your auto insurance carrier needs to know about every accident you were in, whether or not did anything to cause it. Not telling your insurance can hurt your chances of getting compensation and coverage if there is a legal challenge, and it can also mean paying out of pocket for certain upfront expenses.

How quickly after an accident should you report to your own insurance, though? Typically, telling them about it within the next 24 hours is advised.

What you do not need to do is run to the phone and immediately tell your insurance about the crash. If the car accident was serious, such as someone was hurt or your vehicle is heavily damaged, then you might want to consider talking to a local car accident attorney first. They can advise you about what to say to your insurer.

Benefits of Telling Your Insurance Company About the Crash

Getting your insurance company informed about the car accident that wasn’t your fault gives them a record of what happened and why. When the other driver’s insurance provider eventually reaches out to your insurance company, your case will be in a much better position if your insurance company already knows about it.

Each insurance adjuster has the job of making certain their company pays as little as possible after a crash. If your insurance adjuster knows the details of your crash ahead of time, then they will be ready to challenge what the other insurance adjuster might try to say. Ideally, your insurance company will be on your side and try to defend you, but they can’t do too much if they haven’t heard from you or your lawyer.

How to Report Your Accident to Your Insurance Company

1. Speak to an attorney: As mentioned, you should involve a car accident lawyer first if you are worried about saying the wrong thing to your insurance company and accidentally assuming liability.
2. Call your insurance provider: You don’t need to send an official written report to your insurance about the crash. Calling their hotline and making a verbal report over the phone should be enough.
3. Give details while being clear: The insurance adjuster needs to know the overall scene that played out to understand what happened. You don’t need to go into deep details during the first phone call, but you also shouldn’t intentionally leave things out or lie. All the while, be as clear as you can when saying that the crash was not your fault. This is where an attorney’s early help can become so useful because they can tell you how to word statements in a way that makes sense and clearly puts blame on the other driver.
4. Expect follow-ups: Your insurer will probably send you a follow-up questionnaire in the mail shortly after your initial phone call. This packet will ask the same questions as before but might contain new questions, including a section that asks you to draw a traffic diagram of what happened.

With everything said and considered, you need to tell your insurer about a car accident that was your fault or not your fault. How you tell them is open to some interpretation, though. To make certain you handle things well, working with a car accident lawyer is highly recommended.