When most people imagine a car accident, what comes to mind is a serious wreck that results in devastating injuries. However, fortunately, many car accidents are relatively minor, usually without major damage either to yourself or your car.
After experiencing a minor accident, it’s common to wonder whether you absolutely have to contact your insurer, which is why you should get more information about when your insurer needs to be informed of a wreck. Discover when it’s a good idea to tell your insurance company about an accident and be sure to get representation from a car accident lawyer.
Make Your Decision Quickly
When you’re uncertain whether you should call your insurance company after a car accident, it’s important that you make your choice as soon as possible. The majority of auto insurance policies impose a time limit for reporting an accident. Otherwise, you may not be able to file a claim, and these reporting windows are often very short.
Generally, you will have 72-hours to report an accident to your insurance company if you think a claim may be filed against your policy. This includes first-party claims and third-party claims. As soon as you know you will be filing an insurance claim, you need to tell your insurer about your accident.
Reasons to Contact Your Insurer
Even if your accident was minor, you may want to consider reporting it to your insurance company, because you never know what’s going to happen in the future. Reporting the circumstances of the incident can help protect you from liability and will help to ensure you get compensation, if necessary.
First, if your accident results in injuries, regardless of how insignificant they might be, or if there is damage to private property, you need to inform your insurer about your accident. Second, if you plan to file a claim against your insurance or if you believe a third-party will file a claim, then you need to contact your insurance company and let them know.
What to Say When You Make Your Report
When you call the insurance company to report your accident, it is imperative that you be as thorough as possible. Include every detail about your accident, even if it seems unimportant. Information that you need to provide to your insurance company can encompass the date and time of your wreck, how your wreck occurred and the extent of the damage to people and property.
However, this only applies if you’re speaking to your own insurance company. If you’re speaking to a lawyer or insurance representative for the other person involved in your wreck, you should be very careful about what you say. Giving the other party too much information can lead to you being on the hook for the damages resulting from your wreck. Get advice from a car accident lawyer before talking to the other driver’s representatives.
Hire a Car Accident Lawyer
If you think that you need to talk to your insurance company after you’ve been involved in a car accident, you should protect your interests with the help of a car accident lawyer from the McMahan Law Firm. We have experience dealing with insurance companies, and we can help make the process of negotiating with your insurance easy and stress-free.
Request a consultation with one of our attorneys right away.
