If you ever find yourself in a collision, be it a big crash or a small fender bender, you should not leave the scene without the following steps:
- Call the local police department to report the incident – both parties should compile the description of events to/ with the police officer.
- Swap driver’s license details.
- Swap contact numbers and email addresses.
- Swap vehicle details (Reg number and make). Ideally take a photo of the other parties license disk.
- Take wide angle photographs of the vehicle/s on scene as well as of the damages to both vehicles.
- Ask the other party who they are insured with.
- Do not offer to pay for anything. You can confirm that you are insured and that you will notify your insurers and the insurers will handle the rest.
If the third party tries to intimidate you or pressure you or contact you about paying them, just inform it all to your insurers and let the other party contact your broker or insurers in order to follow the correct channels and process swiftly and amicably.
Both parties to an accident should report the event to the police together, details the event and what took place. Firstly, those who tend to bully or intimidate are less likely to behave in such a way in front of a police officer and the event is most fresh in your minds. Further to this, where there is not agreed report put together, then each party can falsify their description of what took place in their own independent report and this can interfere with successful recoveries of the costs of your damages.
For more on this topic, contact us anytime: covered@finesseinsurance.co.za
