Dealing with insurance
Navigating insurance after an accident - advice from a Broker
Accidents are always a major hassle, and sometimes it seems dealing with insurance is almost worse than the accident. That is, unless you've got a good broker, and our (very good) broker Marcus Wolton from Gerrards Insurance Brokers has given us his tips on making it easy. If you need insurance, you won't get better advice.
Understanding the Claims Process
If you're involved in a motor vehicle accident, it's important to know how to navigate the insurance claims process efficiently and effectively to mitigate delays in getting your claim resolved. In the first instance, discuss this with your insurance broker or provider to make sure you understand the process.
Immediate Steps Post-Accident
Safety First: Ensure that everyone involved in the accident is safe. If there are any injuries, call 111 immediately.
Document the Scene: Take photos of the vehicles, the accident site, and any relevant road signs or conditions. This visual evidence can be crucial for your claim, and proving who is liable.
Exchange Information: Collect the other driver's name, address, vehicle registration, and insurance details. Be polite but don’t admit liability, let your insurer discuss this with their insurer.
Report the Accident: Notify the police if the accident involves injury, significant property damage, or if the other party fails to stop.
Filing Your Claim
Contact Your Broker/Insurer: Inform your broker/insurance provider about the accident as soon as possible. They will guide you through their specific claims process.
Complete Claim Forms: Fill out any required forms accurately. Provide all necessary documentation, including photos and the other driver's information.
Assessment and Repair: Your insurer will request you arrange an assessment of your vehicle, they will then review this and all going well approve the repairs.
Understanding Repairable vs. Write-Off Scenarios
If Repairable: Your insurer will guide you through the repair process, covering costs as per your policy.
Repair Assessment: Your insurer will request you arrange an assessment of your vehicle; they will then review this and all going well approve the repairs. Depending on the repairs required you may be able to take your car home or it may be stored.
If a Write-Off (Total Loss):
Removing Personal Belongings: You will have the opportunity to retrieve personal items from the vehicle, anything else will require insurer approval for removal.
Insurance Settlement: The insurer will offer a settlement based on the market or agreed value of your vehicle.
Vehicle Ownership Transfer: Upon accepting the settlement, ownership of the vehicle transfers to the insurer, as they are buying the wreck from you.
Option to Buy Back: In some cases, you may have the option to buy back the vehicle from the insurer.
Dos and Don'ts
Do:
Keep a calm and clear head.
Collect as much information as possible.
Inform your insurer promptly.
Follow legal requirements, like reporting to the police when necessary.
Don't:
Admit fault at the scene.
Neglect to gather evidence.
Delay in reporting the accident.
Overlook any communication from your insurer or the other party involved.
If you are involved in an accident and don't know what to do, call Ashley's on 0800 869 829. We'll take care of everything. And if you want good advice on your insurance, call Gerrards on 0800 374 691
EMERGENCY
If it’s an emergency, dial 111 immediately, then call us.
Truck or trailer?
It all begins with an idea.
So you’ve got a car that needs to be somewhere else, but for whatever reason, it can’t be driven. As I see it, you’ve got a couple of options – a car transporter trailer or a tow truck, but which is the best for you?
If you know someone with a transporter and a car with a tow hook, that’s always going to be the cheapest. You’ll be up for $20 or $30 in fuel, maybe a box of beer for the use of the trailer plus a couple of hours of your time, so the most it will cost you is $50 or $60 dollars. And if you’re anything like me, DIY is how you do things, so what’s not to like about that?
Unfortunately if you ask any insurance company about claims for cars on transporters, you’ll get another side of the story because damage to cars on transporters is pretty common. For starters, you need the right strops and ratchets. The kind of strop you can buy at Bunnings is pretty much designed to hold a lawnmower or a lounge suite down, not a couple of tons of car. Assuming you have decent strops and ratchets, you need to tie it down properly and I’ve followed a LOT of cars on transporters that are an emergency stop away from being a roadside ornament because they haven’t been tied down correctly.
I’m guessing you have the right strops and know how to tie down properly, so it should be fine. Unless some retard is too busy posting on social media to look at the red light. Then they slam into the side of the car you’ve just spent half your life and most of your money on. If, and it’s a big “if” your insurance covers your car when it’s on a trailer, odds are good the local Repco doesn’t sell what you need to fix it.
Another solution is to hire a tow truck and typically it’s going to cost you between $150 and $200 for a reputable operator to do the job. For that extra $100 bucks you’re getting someone else to do all the work for you, but it’s more than just a time saver; your car is much safer on a truck.
For starters, that paint job you spent the GDP of a small African nation on is far less likely to collect stone chips by being a metre or so further from the road, if the idiot hits the truck, the truck takes the pain, not your car. And we’re 100% insured against anything that could happen, so you won’t get told “I’m sorry, we have to decline your claim…”.
I can’t speak for other companies, but at Ashley’s our custom made strops exceed the load demands for any car, van or light truck and are all regularly replaced before they fray and kept clean to avoid marking or damaging your car. It’s little touches like that that make the difference between Ashley’s and everyone else.