You didn’t break in time.

They didn’t see you.

You thought the light was green.

They thought they would fit through.

Whatever the reason, it’s already happened…….. what’s next?

If you have never had an accident before it may be useful to read through these steps.

1. You must record personal details of the other driver.
It doesn’t matter who was at fault, you will both need each others details. This includes Drivers Licence number, street and postal address, telephone numbers (good idea to get at least 2), registration number of the vehicle and if possible the name of their insurance company.

2. Record street names where the accident took place
Record any other relevant information, date, time, speed you were both traveling and what actually happened. You will need to provide these details to police (if making a report) and to your insurance company (if making a claim).

3. Report the accident to police.
In South Australia the law says that if there is over $3000 damage to all property involved or someone is injured the accident must be reported.* You will need to provide the police with the information you collected as mentioned above.

4. If you wish to have your vehicle repaired, call your insurance company and make a claim.
Different insurance companies have different claiming procedures, they will be able to inform you of how to make your claim.

5. Bring your vehicle and your claim number into your chosen repairer and request a quote.
This process varies slightly depending on your insurance company, however generally a quote will be done for the repairs to your vehicle and the repairer will submit this to your insurance company. Images are likely to be taken at this point by the repairer as a reference for the repairer and your insurance company.

6. An assessment of your vehicle will be carried out.
Sometimes in person (this is likely to require you to drop your vehicle off to your repairer for a day so that an assessor from your insurance company can come out and look at your car), or online (some insurance companies do online assessments, using the images your repairer took during the quoting stage). If there are no issues surrounding your claim your repairs are likely to be authorised (obviously this is at the discretion of your insurance company and can be discussed with your repairer if you have any concerns about your claim).

7. Once repairs have been authorised your insurance company will notify your repairer and your repairer will contact you to discuss a time for your repairs to be completed.

Hopefully you will never have a accident and if you do hopefully it will be minor, but at least now you will know the steps you need to take to have your vehicle repaired and back to you as soon as possible.

*Please refer to SA Police website for more information and exceptions
http://www.sa.gov.au/subject/Transport,+travel+and+motoring/Motoring/Roads+and+traffic/Reporting+road+hazards/Reporting+a+road+crash

Woodside:

Woodside, Woodside North, Lobethal, Birdwood, Mount Torrens, Lenswood, Charleston, Cherryville, Oakbank, Balhannah, Harrogate, Brukunga, Bridgewater, Hahndorf, Mount Barker, Nairne, Littlehampton, Gumeracha, Cudlee Creek, Uraidla, Adelaide Hills, Mount Pleasant, Mannum, Kanmantoo, Wistow, Stirling, Aldgate, Crafers.

Contact us at Woodside today to discuss your crash repair needs.

Stepney:

Stepney, magill, norwood, St. Morris, College Park, Maylands, Kent town, Adelaide, Trinity Gardens, Kensington, Kensington Gardens, Kensington Park, Rostrevor, North Adelaide, Hackney, Evandale, Gilberton, Walkerville, Rose Park, Toorak Gardens, Leabrook, Rosslyn Park, Burnside, Wattle Park, Beulah Park, Payneham, Payneham South, Newton, Marden, Royston Park, Walkerville, Eastwood, Dulwich, Glenside, Tusmore, Heathpool, Vale Park, Parkside, Eastwood.

Contact us at Stepney today to discuss your crash repair needs.