What to do when you are in an auto accident

While I hope nobody reading our blog is ever involved in an auto accident, the chances are likely that one day you will be. It is my most sincere wish that if you are in an accident in the future, let the fault be with the other driver. From our last blog there was a list of items you were to gather and have in your vehicles, yes you need this set in every car. These items will come in handy when that terrible day arrives.

The most import thing to be done after an accident is to determine if you or any passengers in your vehicle are injured. If you are feeling pain, dizziness, light headed, confusion, or anything different, you were likely injured so CALL THE POLICE and report your accident. Make sure to tell the dispatchers that injuries are involved and the police WILL go to your accident. How fast they will get there is any ones guess. Always let the dispatcher know about anything you may consider serious or life-threatening so proper urgency is given to your call. You will have to make a determination as to the severity of your injuries or anyone else's in your vehicle, if you need to do not hesitate to go to the hospital. This is not the time to be concerned about the cost of a hospital ER visit, these details can be dealt with later, the most important thing is the health of you and your passengers.

If you determine you are in good enough condition to get out of your vehicle, only do so, IF IT IS SAFE!! If you decide to get out of your vehicle always try to get out through doors on the opposite side of oncoming traffic as you don't want to step into oncoming traffic and get hit by a vehicle or a part to any vehicle. IF, traffic is sparse, you may decide to come out of the drivers side. Remember, safety is the most important thing at this point.

Get your camera and take photos. Photos at accident scenes are taken this way; all photos should have be taken at enough distance so you can see how both vehicles are positioned. Also, take photos that include reference points like; a stop sign, a fire hydrant, a house/building so when you put these photos together you have a broad view of where the accident happened. This will eliminate confusion as to the location where the accident happened. Always get a good clear picture of the other vehicles LICENSE PLATE along with make, model and year information. This information can be found most of the times on the other drivers insurance card. Please take your time to make sure all the information you write down about the other vehicle is correct.

Ask the driver of the other vehicle for their drivers license and insurance card just like the police and write down the name, address. date of birth and drivers license number. Look at the insurance card to see if the drivers name is on it. If it is not, ask who's vehicle are they driving? Let them speak, people often spill the beans on themselves with little or no help. Make a note what the drivers relationship is to the owner.

Up to this point the instructions we have given have been fairly straight forward and make complete sense to you, but now here are the things you haven't thought about. Most of this will come into play when you are dealing with someone who is not honest and it gives you the ability to protect your self from being scammed. Yes insurance fraud happens and it costs the insurance company money, lots of it. And yes you wind up paying for it in the form of higher premiums.

The first thing to do is to see if the driver is alone. If they are not, identify how many passengers they are carrying and get a list of their names if possible. There have been times when at fault drivers are alone and later make up about having passengers at the time of an accident. Another thing to watch for when the other driver was alone is for other people the driver knows to show up between the time the police are called and the time they arrive. Then, the extra people say they were in the vehicle when the accident happened. It is one of the oldest tricks for crooked people. 

TRY TO GET PICTURES OF THE PEOPLE IN THE AT FAULT VEHICLE, IF POSSIBLE. This visual evidence can be a claim saver if later people claim to be at your accident scene or even injured in the accident and they were not. If the other driver or their passengers are walking around outside their vehicle, get photographic evidence of this. All too often people claim to be hurt much worse than they are to maximize the settlement amount, your photos may be the proof the adjuster needs to keep the settlement at the correct amount.

Do NOT make any comments whether you are at fault of not!! Let, your claims department which is qualified get all the information about the accident and make that determination. So many times, people who thought they were at fault for an accident actually turned out not to be. So, let the professionals handle this one!

If you called in an accident involving injuries, leave your vehicles where they came to rest after the accident unless doing so places you in danger. There is no reason for your vehicle to get hit more than once. Once is enough! When the police arrive, they are there to only gather facts, keep the roadway safe, assist any injured passengers and to see if they can determine which driver is at fault. Please, please, please do not take the officers time giving them your opinions. I can tell you, they really are not interested in anything else anyone has to say. They just want the facts so they can go about doing their other work.

If you are involved in an auto accident at night use your flashlight!. It makes it easier for on coming vehicles to see you from a distance, slow down, give you space or maybe assist you. Be LEERY of strangers, especially men, assisting you ladies especially if you are alone. A quick call to the police is the easiest way to keep your self from being victimized. If you can do it safely, light a flare and place it beside your drivers side rear bumper for extra safety. Flares are very easy to see at a good distance to alert oncoming vehicle of an accident and for them to be extra careful.

If your vehicle needs to be towed from the accident scene and you have a repair shop you prefer to have you vehicle taken to, let the tow truck driver that is where it is to be taken. Make sure to tell them clearly or they will take it to an impound just to rack up fees which you or your insurance company will have to pay. They really don't care about doing whats right just creating a bigger bill which someone will pay.
Call your claims department as quickly as you can and provide them with as much information as you can. Remember, you were at the accident scene, they were not so be prepared to be asked a LOT of questions. Trust me, they are necessary so your assigned adjuster can begin to develop some impression about who might be at fault. If you claims department calls you answer or return the call as quickly as possible. It will help the process off to a better start and may get the results you are looking for.

This can be a sticky point, car rental. Your vehicle is damaged and you need transportation, right? If you have auto rental on your policy, USE IT. Don't worry about what's right, what's fair, it's not your fault, all those things will not get you around. You need transportation, get it, even if it's through your own policy. There is nothing wrong, evil or bad about using what you pay for to meet your needs. It's simply smart!!

If your insurance company determines the other driver to be at fault, your insurance company knows how to get the money they spent to assist you back, it's call Subrogation. Don't worry about it, I have dealt with this issue hundreds of times and you insurance company should not count your using your benefits against you as if you were involved in an accident that is your fault.

Within the few days following the accident you will probably be contacted by the other drivers insurance company. When they call please let them know from the very beginning if you are being represented by an attorney for your physical injuries. Give them your attorneys name and phone number. Also, do not tell them you have an attorney on this matter, if you don't. An experienced adjuster can tell when you're feeding him a line.

If you are not legally represented, tell the adjuster in simple and direct language that you do not consent to any recording of the conversation you are about to have. Ask the adjuster to confirm to you they understand that your conversation during the course of your claim is not to be recorded. If they have a problem complying with your request, tell them you will contact your State Insurance Board and file a complaint against them.

Listen to their questions and answer it to the best of your ability but make an effort to help them by providing information since you were there and they were not. Also, keep your answers simple, short and to the point so his question gets answered. Do not go on, on and on as you might say something that may come back to haunt you.

Do not make comments about who is at fault. The adjuster can honestly care less what your opinion is about fault. It is his job to come to that conclusion. In most states, an insurance company is allowed a reasonable amount of time to make a determination on what to do with your claim. Let them do their jobs and with cooperation, who knows maybe you will get the answer you hope for in less than two weeks.

Remember, it is your right to hire someone to protect your interests when you are involved in an accident. You are more than welcome to contact our company, VIS at 817-851-7166 or by e-mail at Manny@visdfw.com seven days a week if you are involved in an accident for a free consultation. We can assist you in recovering a fair settlement without paying an attorney 33 1/3% of your settlement amount.

Your mission for the week, if you choose to accept it, is to be ready to make some awesome mental notes. Next week we will talk about bodily injuries claims so tune in. This is going to be a good, meaty blog.

Take care,
Manny and Adriane

Visit us at visdfw.com to learn more about us and the services we can provide.

The Myth of "Full Coverage"

This will be a short and sweet message for this week. If you have searched through your policy, I bet you didn't find the term, "Full Coverage" did you? Why not? It's not a legitimate insurance term! If it was, the attorneys and underwriters that are involved in putting together the language you see on your policy would have written it in there.

The term is primarily used by people who are selling vehicles and not involved in any way with insurance and by agents. Remember, agents sell insurance products and are not involved with coverage investigations, the actual investigation of any claims, deciding issues of liability or what claims get paid and which ones do not. Insurance claims adjusters really don't like the term because while it sounds like an all encompassing phrase, it is really vague and not a legitimate term.

The usage of this term leaves the policyholder with the impression that any type of loss whether at fault or not; has a coverage on their policy to cover it. You believe those aftermarket parts you put on your vehicle are covered, when in fact they are not. Yep, those upgraded wheels and rims, not covered unless you bought coverage specifically for them.

Remember from our prior blogging, if your policy doesn't show you paying for a coverage, you don't have that coverage! This is why adjusters verbally cover each and every coverage a policyholder has on their policy while speaking with them about their claim. More times than not, this is where I will get an ear full from the policyholder. It's here they find out that coverages they thought were on their policy, are not there. All because of that pesky phrase, "Full Coverage"!!

I make it a point to educate policyholders that the term "full coverage" is not a legitimate term and all coverages on their policy are listed, one by one. Why? So, the policyholder can identify any coverage they want on their policy and address any that aren't listed that with their agent BEFORE they have a loss and find out they don't have the coverage for that loss.

Should you EVER get that dastardly "full coverage" phrase from your agent or claims department, drop some knowledge on them and tell them NOT to use that phrase as you can see how misleading it is. There is truth behind the phrase, "Words have meaning" especially when wrong ones are used.

A topic to write a blog on has been suggested to me. "What should I do right after being in an auto accident"?  So, take a guess, what the next blog will be about? You got it! So tune in and learn the things the insurance industry and attorneys don't want you to know.

Your mission this week, should you choose to accept it, gather the following supplies and place them in your car; disposable camera, flashlight (and extra batteries or one that doesn't require batteries), notepad and pen, flares, and a photocopy of your insurance card in addition to the original.


When you find yourself one day in an auto accident, you will have the information available and in mind to handle that accident like a pro!