What to Do After a Car Accident
A collision is stressful, and the first steps you take can decide who pays for the repair and whether your rates change. Here is the order we recommend, and how we take over the claim once your car reaches us.
After an accident
The steps to take, in order
If the accident was not your fault, this is the path that protects both your car and your insurance rate.
Call the police and get a report
Once everyone is safe, call the police so an officer can document the accident. The police report is the official record, and it lists the other driver's insurance information. That report is what lets us open a claim for you.
Wait before you call your insurance
Do not call your own insurer yet. If the accident was not your fault, filing with your own company first can work against you. Let the police report come through first.
Bring the report to us
Once you have the police report, bring it in. Using the other driver's insurance details, we open the claim directly with their company and handle the paperwork from there.
Pay nothing out of pocket
When the accident is not your fault, the at-fault driver's insurance covers the repair in full, with no deductible for you. We work with that insurer directly.
Why not call your own insurance first?
It feels natural to call your own insurer right away. When the accident was not your fault, we usually advise against it, and here is why.
Filing a claim with your own company puts a claim on your record, even when another driver caused the accident. Your insurer pays for the repair first, then pursues the at-fault driver's insurance to get the money back. While that plays out, the claim stays on your history, and it is common to see a premium increase several months later, often around the six-month mark, on an accident that was never your fault.
This is not just our experience. A Consumer Federation of America study found that four of the five major insurers it tested raised premiums after a not-at-fault accident, by roughly 8 to 12 percent, or about $99 to $264 more a year.
Claiming against the at-fault driver's insurance instead keeps the claim off your own record and away from your future rates.
If the accident was your fault
In that case, going through your own insurance is usually the fastest way to get your car back on the road, and we handle that claim for you the same way.
Not sure which applies to you? Call us and we will walk through your situation.
Insurance
The insurers we work with
We handle claims with every major insurance company, whether you are filing against the at-fault driver or going through your own policy. That includes State Farm, GEICO, Progressive, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, USAA, Nationwide, The Hartford, NJM Insurance, Plymouth Rock, Mercury Insurance, and every other major insurer.
Your right
The repair shop is your choice
Your insurer can recommend a shop, but by law they cannot require you to use one. The decision is always yours.
- 20+ years on Park Avenue. A trusted name in Guttenberg for over two decades.
- I-CAR Gold Class certified. The training standard insurers look for, and one most shops never reach.
- Insurance handled directly. We deal with the adjuster and the paperwork, so you do not have to.
- Lifetime warranty. Every repair is backed for as long as you own the vehicle.
Common questions
What should I do right after a car accident that was not my fault?
Call the police and get a police report, which lists the other driver's insurance information. Hold off on calling your own insurance, bring the report to us, and we open the claim with the at-fault driver's insurer. When you are not at fault, that insurer covers the repair with no deductible for you.
Should I call my own insurance after an accident?
If the accident was not your fault, we usually advise against filing with your own insurer first, because the claim goes on your record and can raise your premium months later even though you were not at fault. If the accident was your fault, going through your own insurance is the fastest route, and we handle that claim too.
Do I have to pay a deductible?
When the accident is not your fault and the claim goes through the at-fault driver's insurance, you typically pay nothing and there is no deductible. If you go through your own insurance, your policy's deductible applies.
Get a free estimate on your car
One call starts it. We look at the damage, write up a free estimate, and handle the insurance from there.