What do I do if I’ve been in a car accident?
Make Sure Everyone is Safe
This is the most important thing to do. If you’re in the middle of the roadway, please pull off to the shoulder and get to somewhere that you’re safe.
Exchange Numbers
Once you’re in a safe spot, the first thing to do is exchange information with the other party or parties. Make sure to get pictures of their driver’s license(s) and insurance card(s). It’s usually the easiest to snap pictures of these items with your phone. It gets all of the information right there in front of you and there’s no question if the numbers and information are correct. Please also make sure they provide a good insurance card. Most insurance cards are good for six months or a year, so make sure it’s still valid. If not, see if they have a valid copy of it in their car or on their phone.
Take Pictures of the Damages
Take multiple pictures of your vehicle and the other party’s vehicle. This is important to document the current state of all vehicles involved for insurance purposes.
Should I Call the Police?
Most of the time, if an incident occurs on private property or no one is injured, the police won’t come out. However, we always recommend to call the police if you can. At least make a report. You can also go to the police station or download this Blue Form from the State of Texas. This will also allow you to make a report of the accident.
Call Hanby Insurance
Once you have gotten the other party’s insurance card(s) and driver’s license(s) and taken photos of all vehicles involved in the accident and the damages, then we ask that you call our office. We have a claims liaison in the office, Rhody Lynn. She’s phenomenal! She can walk you through each step in the claims process and let you know exactly what to do.
We’re open Monday-Friday from 9-5. Many times, these events happen outside of our business hours. If your car is drivable and you can wait to call us until our business hours, please do so. If your car is not drivable or someone has been injured, please go ahead and call your insurance carrier directly. We want to make sure that claim gets submitted quickly, especially if someone is injured. Don’t wait for us to open; go ahead and call the carrier. Then let us know once we’re open, we also have an online claims form that can be found here: Online Claim Form You can fill out the form and our office will call you the next business day.
Hanby Helps
Our job as your insurance agent is to work with you on your behalf and walk you through the claims process. So please rely on us and let us know how we can help you if any type of claim occurs. Hopefully you won’t ever need this information, but if you do these are the steps: make sure everyone is safe, then take pictures of the other party’s current insurance card, their driver’s license, and the damages on all vehicles involved.