What Not To Do After You’ve Had An Auto Accident

When things take you by surprise, it can be hard to think clearly and make the right decision. You have probably not given it a thought to ask your insurance agent/counsellor about this, but you ought to know what exactly is to be done incase you suffer a road accident. Here’s a list of things that should ‘Not’ be done when it comes to your automobiles’ insurance…

Accepting fault and apologising

Don’t assume that the accident was your fault. Since you are not familiar with the rules of the road, your apologizing could blemish the police report and it might turn out that your insurance company ends up paying for the damages of the other party.

 

Making a back-door deal

Don’t agree to pay for the other driver’s vehicle damages in exchange for his silence. In that monent the other driver may try to strike a deal with you, agreeing not to call his insurer or yours, but later change his mind.

Bottomline: the driver who received the money denies ever getting paid and collects twice and you get charged with an at fault accident anyway.

 

Authorize repairs immediately

Wait until you have discussed the whole thing with your insurance advisor. The advisor may refer you to a repair facility with which your insurance company has an agreement.  It might be possible that with the insurer’s preferred repair facility, the repair comes with a guarantee which you may not have otherwise received by going somewhere else.

 

Forget to take photographs of the accident

You’ve heard it right- A picture is worth a thousand words. You probably don’t know that photos of the position of each vehicle right after an accident is important. They depict how far into a turn a vehicle was or how far out of a parking space a vehicle was; which will in turn decide the guilty.

 

Arguing with the other driver in the middle of the road

If you get into an auto accident on a busy road or highway, pull off the vehicle on the side of the road. Don’t argue with the other driver for a long time. Instead, remain calm and inform the police.