Reporting an accident to your insurer

What your policy asks of you

Many personal auto policies are built on a standard form written by ISO, an insurance industry organization, and its "Duties after an accident or loss" section is where the reporting rule lives. The wording below comes from one edition, form PP 00 01 01 05, as filed with Virginia's Bureau of Insurance; your policy may say it differently, so read your own conditions section.

• Prompt notice of how, when and where the accident or loss happened, including the names and addresses of injured people and witnesses.
• Cooperation with the insurer in the investigation, settlement or defense of any claim or suit.
• Legal papers: promptly send copies of any notices or legal papers you receive about the accident.
• Medical exams and records: submit to a physical exam by a doctor the insurer chooses, at its expense, and authorize it to get medical and other relevant records.
• Proof of loss when the insurer requires one, and an examination under oath if it asks.
• For a hit-and-run claimed under uninsured motorist coverage, prompt notice to the police.

In this edition the insurer has no duty to provide coverage if your failure to meet these duties is prejudicial to it, meaning it hurt the insurer's ability to investigate or defend. Whether a delay did that depends on the facts and on your state's law. The risk is greatest when the other driver sues months later and your insurer first hears about the crash from the lawsuit, after the cars are repaired and the witnesses are hard to find.

A report is not always a claim

Telling your insurer about a crash puts it on notice. What happens next depends on who pays for what, and you can say which of these you intend when you call:

What to have ready before you call

• Your policy number and the names of everyone who was driving or riding in your car.
• The time and exact place, the direction each car was going and the road conditions.
• The other driver's details: name, phone, insurer and policy number, plate and car. Our list of what to exchange covers it.
• The police agency and report number, if officers came.
• Names and contact details of injured people and witnesses.
• Where your car is now, and whether it can be driven.
• Your photos, ready to upload when the insurer asks.

Many insurers take reports by phone, app or website. Use whichever gives you a claim number right away, and if you call, write down the time, the person's name and what you were told.

How the first call goes

1. Give the facts in order and say plainly what you don't know. Don't guess about speeds, distances or who was at fault.
2. Get the claim number and the name and direct contact of the adjuster who will handle it.
3. Ask which coverages apply and what your deductible is for each.
4. Ask what the insurer needs from you and by when: photos, the police report, estimates, a statement, medical authorizations.
5. Ask how the damage will be inspected and whether you may take the car to a shop of your choice.
6. Ask about a rental if your policy has rental reimbursement, and the daily limit.
7. Confirm in writing. Send a short email repeating what was agreed, so the file shows it.

If you plan to claim against the other driver, call their insurer as well, give their policy number and ask for a claim number of your own. You are not that company's customer, so its adjuster works for its driver; keep to facts there too, and send documents by email so you have a record of what went in. Tell your own adjuster that you opened the claim.

If the adjuster asks to record your statement, you can ask what it will cover and when it will be done. Giving a recorded statement explains how to prepare.

The insurer's clock starts too

Every state has a law against unfair claim settlement practices, and many turn its general duty to act promptly into days through a regulation built on the NAIC model. Under that model:

Some states write their own numbers into law. In Texas, for instance, an insurer has 15 days to acknowledge a claim under your own policy and 15 business days to accept or reject it once it has everything it asked for. Your state's deadlines are on its page in claim rules by state.

Questions people ask