Accidents and One Day Car Insurance

You just had an accident in the new truck you borrowed from you brother-in-law, and you are so thankful you listened to the sensible advice you were given by someone and bought the one day car insurance. Whether you have ever been in a car accident or this is your first one, there are certain steps to take, information to gather and details that must be attended to which are very important to the eventual outcome of the incident. These are things that need to be taken of care any time an accident occurs regardless whether you are covered by your regular insurance in your own vehicle, or were driving someone else’s car or truck and you have a special one day car insurance policy.

The list of things you need to do is long and everything on it is important whether you think it applies to you or not. Following protocol now will make things easier in the long run regardless if the policy you are filing a claim on is a semiannual long-term insurance policy or it is a one day car insurance rider.

1. Contact your carrier immediately. The only exception would be if you or your passengers are seriously injured and you need immediate medical attention, otherwise your agent should be the first person you tell when you are involved in an accident and the injuries are minor, not life threatening.

2. Go over your policy with a fine tooth comb, reading all the exceptions and fine print.

3. Get all the details. Talk to any witnesses, being certain to get their names telephone numbers and addresses. Take as many pictures of the accident scene and the damages done, not only to your vehicle, but if there other cars involved, record the damages done and injures suffered. Be your own personal CSI so nothing important is left to chance.

4. Document their insurance information. Take down their insurance company’s name, the policy number and the contact information.

5. Keep as complete record of all conversations and dealings with everyone involved. You might feel a little uncomfortable making audio or video recording of all interactions with either insurance company, with the other driver involved, or with the claims department, but this is your best defense when building a strong case.

6. Keep an exact and detailed accounting of all bills or expenses for filing your insurance claim.

7. Be honest and upfront with the claims adjuster. Leaving out some details or exaggerating the cost and loss would be grounds for dismissal of your claim due to fraud. Point out that you made a responsible choice when you purchased one day car insurance, when so many people don’t think it’s important or necessary.

8. Review all existing insurance policies before you file with the claims adjuster.

9. Don’t automatically blame yourself for causing the accident if the incident report is unclear where all the blame might lie. Leave that up to their investigators, interpreting all the facts to decide the party responsible for the accident is their job.

10. Submit nothing in writing to either insurance agency pertaining to details yet undetermined by the experts, because you can’t take it back.

11. File your claim in a timely fashion. This is NOT the time to procrastinate. All companies vary in the time allowed to submit an accident claim. Find out right away what your window of opportunity to file is and get it done!

12. Never accept their first offer or agree with their findings, until you have all the details and estimates of damages and the cost of repairs, Definitely get your own estimates done by an independent third-party. Sadly, your own insurance company is going to want to pay the least possible amount of money, because after all they are still in business to make money, not friends.

13. DO NOT SIGN any legal documents until you consult an attorney!

14. Never accept and or cash a check from the insurance company as a partial payment or final settlement until you are absolutely satisfied that is fair compensation for your trouble. You won’t be given a second chance to get all that you deserve.

It is a wise person indeed that has the foresight to actually go out and buy a one day car insurance policy when they are planning to use a car or truck that doesn’t belong to them. There are very few things that happen as you are traveling along the road of life can mess up your routine like being involved in a car accident unless you are an uninsured motorist who is driving someone else’s ride. You think dealing with the details of the claims and process are tough, the consequences are nothing compared to breaking the law and driving without insurance.