December 25, 2011

What To Know When Filing An Auto Insurance Claim Online

Owning a car, much like owning any expensive object such as a house, can difficult to fully understand. There are so many rules and extra things that need to be done in order to keep the car running. Auto insurance is probably the most difficult part about owning a car because it can sometimes be confusing. The insurance laws constantly change as do the costs. In just the last few years, states have been adding and changing driving laws and then insurance companies have turned around and begun increasing costs. It's all about judging risk for insurance companies. The more risk an individual brings to the table, the higher their premiums are going to be. What makes a person a high risk is the number of accidents they have had and how they claims were filed. A bad filing can ultimately cause a person harm financially. So, it's important to know about assessing vehicle damage and filing an auto insurance online claim.

There are a number of things to know about filing an auto insurance online claim. The very first thing happens at the scene of the accident. Assessing vehicle damage is the first thing you, the other driver and possibly a police officer have to do. Make notes about any damage that occurred because of the accident, making sure to leave out any damage that was already on the car. Falsely claiming damage that wasn't caused by the most recent accident can mean you lose the claim case or you don't get compensation. This, in turn, can raise the insurance prices for you.

Make sure to get the police report, if any, so that you can use that to fill out the auto insurance online claim. When filling out these online claims, much like you would do with an in-person claim, every bit of information needs to be entered. Nothing should be omitted, especially pieces of information that are vital to the claim process. Based on the information provided, your insurance agent will contact the other person's insurance agent to discuss the information they have received from their clients. An inspector will go out and look at the damage caused to both vehicles to determine who was at fault and other pertinent matters.

Claim forms will typically ask for date and time of the accident, so make sure you know that. The name of the other driver and the make, model and year of their vehicle is also important. If you have their driver's license number and insurance information the process will go much more quickly. Also, fill out all details about the accident that the agent may need to know.