If you’ve been in a car accident, knowing what to expect when you call the insurance company can take some (or even a lot) of the edge off your foray into the insurance world. The first thing most people say to their adjuster is, “I don’t know what to do - I’ve never made a claim before.” Because they don’t know what to expect, they are nervous, scared, suspicious, or openly hostile. This doesn’t have to be your experience.
Your company may ask you to provide a recorded statement, either in person or over the phone. Very simply, they will ask you about the accident, you will answer and they will record the conversation on a tape recorder. This is fine, as long as they tell you when they are recording and when they are not.
You do have an obligation to cooperate with them in their investigation of the accident. They have to be reasonable in what they ask, but a recorded statement is perfectly normal. The more detailed the information you can provide to them, the better they will be able to handle your claim.
If other vehicles were involved, you will probably get a phone call or visit from a representative of the other person’s company. This also is normal. Some people will tell you that you should never, under any circumstances, talk to the other person’s company. Whether this is good advice is debatable, but for the most part, the “other guys” are simply trying to do the same thing “your guys” are doing. For every person involved in an accident there is a slightly (or even radically) different version of what happened. They’re just trying to get all sides of the story.
That said, you are not under any obligation to talk to the other person’s insurer. Your contract is with your company, not them, so if you want them to bug off, just tell them (but use nicer words; they are people with feelings, even if they do work for an insurance company).
Or you may actually want to make your claim against the other company instead of with your own. There are a number of good reasons to do this, and some reasons why it may not be such a good idea. For more on that question, click on the above link.
Know that you may have to pay your own deductible, at least at first. Even when the accident was not your fault, if you claim through your own collision coverage, you may be charged for it. In most cases, your company will try to recoup from the other person’s insurance. If they are successful, they will pay you back. If not, or if they only get some of the money, you will get the same proportion of your deductible back that they recovered of the whole claim.
There are many other possibilities as well. To read discussions on some of them, see the related article, When the Rubber Leaves the Road.
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