UK Finance News

Having an accident is a shocking and traumatic event.

In the heat of the moment you might not be able to think clearly when your vehicle is involved in an accident, however there are certain things you must do for your car cover claim to be valid.

By law you are required to stop if you are involved in any incident involving damage to property or injury to a person or animal. If you own the vehicle, you must give your name, address and insurance details to other parties involved. If you do not own the vehicle, you must give the owner’s name and address.

If someone is injured, you are also required to report the incident to the police within 24 hours and you will need to provide them with your Certificate of Motor Insurance within five days. You are also legally required to help with the claims process to the best of your ability to ensure that all records are as accurate as possible. If you do not comply with these basic legal requirements, you could face legal action for your negligence.

At the scene, it is important that you do not apologise or admit any fault; allow your insurance company to decide this according the evidence. There are also several other things you can do at the scene to ease the claims process. Try to collect the following information:

• Full personal details of the other drivers, including their phone number, address and registration number of all other vehicles involved.
• Full details of what happened, weather conditions, position of the cars etc
• Details of injuries caused and property damaged
• Name and contact details of any witnesses
• Attending police officers’ details and report
• Photographs of the scene if these can be taken safely

After you have collected the evidence and notified the police if necessary, you should then phone your insurance policy helpline as soon as possible. They will require all the information above that you have gathered, as well as an account from you regarding what happened. Quality car insurance will usually protect you financially in case of an accident, including offering a replacement car if your car needs to be repaired and if you or anyone in the car is injured in an incident, your insurance could pay over £100 in medical expenses for each injured person. Gathering the correct information is therefore crucial to ensuring you can make an accurate claim.

Quality car insurance is essential in case of an accident. If you follow these simple steps you will reduce the stress caused by having an accident – however if you work with a reliable, renowned insurance company you will have even more peace of mind that you will be financially protected too.