First of all we want to emphasize what "claim" means. We are aware that the language used by insurance companies is often not easily understood. When insurance companies speak of “claim” they mean any incident for which the insured is entitled to compensation from the insurer. A claim can range from a scratch to the vehicle when you are parking to a multiple collision that ends up with the car in the junkyard. Theft of the vehicle is also a claim. Based on this explanation, we can classify claims into three types:
1. Without opponent.
- If your policy is to Third Parties, your company will not cover the damages of your car.
- If your policy is All Risk, you must inform your company as soon as possible.
- If the vehicle is recovered with damage:
2. With opponent. Fill out the Accident Friendly Declaration and communicate it to your company as soon as possible.
3. Theft. Report it and give the insurer a copy of the complaint.
- If your policy is to Third Parties, your company will not cover the damages of your car.
- If your policy is All Risk, they can:
- Repair it
- Declare it total loss
- If the vehicle is not recovered after forty days
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- If your policy is to Third Parties, you will not be entitled to any compensation.
- If your policy is All Risk, the compensation will be the total loss, according to the conditions of your policy.
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Commonly when we speak of an accident, we mean a collision with another vehicle. We have prepared for you the “Decalogue in the event of an accident with an opponent”. If you have never seen yourself in this situation, you might get nervous when the time comes and not know what to do. Why not print it out and keep it with the policy?
- If the vehicles involved in the accident make traffic difficult, you should move them as far as possible.
- If there are injured you have to write down their data. If the opposing driver does not want to collaborate, call the competent authority. If he tries to flee from the scene of the accident, write down the registration number and call the competent authority.
- If there are two vehicles involved, fill out a single Accident Report. If there are three vehicles, two reports must be filled out.
- If you do not agree with the other driver and there are witnesses to the accident, collect their details.
- If the claim occurred in a European country whose language you do not understand, check if the model is accepted by the European Insurance Committee and, if it is, do not worry because the data they ask for is the same as in Spain.
- SIGN AND HAVE THE OTHER DRIVER SIGN. Hand over one copy and keep the other.
- If you have a hit with an opponent and you do not have reports, try to collect at least:
- Date, time and place of the incident
- Personal data of the other driver, including DNI, or driving license number and contact telephone number.
- Data of the opposing vehicle
- Details of the other driver's insurance company, including the policy number and expiry of the same.
- Personal data and contact of any witness to the accident.
8. Inform Euroteide Insurance as soon as possible and take the opportunity to order more accident reports if you have run out of them.
9. NEVER try to reach an economic agreement with the opponent.
A couple of things that don't hurt to remember:
- The more data you provide, the faster the claim will be processed.
- Signing the report does not imply acknowledging the responsibility for the accident, but the data provided.
- Total loss is a term used in the insurance world when the cost of repairing the vehicle exceeds a certain percentage of the insured value.