Checklist for Auto Insurance Claim in Canada

Every driver’s top priority is safety on the road. An accident, such as a collision with another vehicle or object, is one of the worst things a driver can face. At worst, road incidents can result in serious injury or impairment, severely damage property, and cause both injuries and property damage to another driver, passenger, or pedestrian on the road.

Your auto insurance policy protects you from the financial impact of property damage and third-party liability. A more comprehensive plan also equips you with repair or replacement coverage for personal and commercial property, accident benefits, and resources for sustaining the legal fees and settlements in a liability claim. These benefits are accessed when you successfully file an auto insurance claim following an accident.

Your Auto Insurance Claim Checklist

An auto claim checklist is the best way to keep track of all the steps you need to take to ensure a successful claim and access the coverage benefits of your auto insurance policy. This checklist reminds you of everything you need to do at the scene of the accident, and the documents that need to be filed following your recovery.

• Call for help: if you are able, call 911 to report the accident and ask for police and medical assistance. If there are no injuries, you may simply call local law enforcement to report the accident.
• Check for injuries: if you or your passengers, or another driver or bystander on the road are injured, you will all need emergency medical treatment as soon as possible to prevent injuries from worsening.
• If the accident occurred in a busy intersection, move out of harm’s way and take action to prevent further injury to people and property.
• Record accident details: the exact location and time the accident took place, the exact damage and its severity (recorded in photos and videos), the circumstances leading to the accident, and expenses you may have paid for, such as towing services.
• Call your auto insurance company: call your broker for assistance in filing a claim with your insurance company. Your broker can walk you through the steps involved, what to expect along the way, as well as assisting you throughout the entire claims process.
• Ask the police for an incident report number: your insurance company will need this to establish who is at fault for the accident.
• Get the insurance information and contact details of the other parties involved, this includes any witnesses who may be called upon to corroborate details.

Keeping track of this information is necessary for the police report. This helps the police with the investigation and to determine who is responsible for the accident. Your auto insurance company will also require this information for their own investigation in order to grant your claim.

File Your Auto Insurance Claim

You need to file an auto insurance claim for any accident or damage to your vehicle, even if you weren’t driving, such as in the case of a natural disaster or impact from a moving object while your car is parked. Filing a claim ensures that you are compensated for the damage and receive the appropriate coverage benefits to avoid out-of-pocket expenses.

Even if you were not found to be at fault, an auto insurance claim helps ensure that repairs or parts replacement and accident benefits are guaranteed. This is safer than dealing with an at-fault driver who offers to pay for the damage without going through insurance.