Be Prepared

• In anticipation of a potential accident, it is helpful to keep a working pen and an information card in the vehicle's glove compartment. On the information card, list important medical information that applies to the driver or any family members. Emergency cones, flares or warning triangles are also useful to help guide traffic, especially if an accident takes place after dark.
  
  

What to Do First in an Accident

• Try to stay as calm as possible and remember to take a few deep breaths. Next, check for injuries on yourself or any other passengers in the vehicle. If there is any doubt in terms of the seriousness of an injury, call for help and an ambulance. If the auto accident is a fender bender or other minor damage, remove the cars out of traffic to a safe location.
  
  Alert other drivers and emergency vehicles of the accident by switching on the vehicle's hazard lights. Use warning flares, cones or triangles to mark the area. Contact the police, even if an accident is not serious. A police report documents the details of the accident and each person's story, which may become important later when discussing the accident with your insurance agent and claims adjuster.
  
  

Call Your Agent

• Immediately call your insurance agent regarding the accident. You may even want to contact them from the accident scene, and ask a police officer to speak to them to provide the most accurate, unemotional account of the accident. It is important to make written notes immediately about the accident, including information on any witnesses and specific damage incurred to each vehicle involved. After documenting this information, communicate it to the insurance agent as well. There is no way to know what another driver will tell his insurance company, and the more your agent knows, the better.
  
  

Document the Accident

• Exchange information with all other drivers involved in the accident, including insurance information and the car's registration. If the driver has a different name than what is shown on the car's registration, find out and write down the relationship. Use your cell phone camera to photograph each car's damage and to show the context of the whole accident. Your insurance agent and claims adjuster will be able to use this information, especially if other drivers attempt to dispute your description of the accident.
  
  Police officers may not respond to a non-injury accident; however, having a police report often makes it easier for insurance companies to expedite an accident claim. Drivers can file their own state vehicle accident report by obtaining the form at a police station. Many states also have a downloadable form on their Department of Motor Vehicles website.
  
  

Noteworthy Tips

• Protect yourself by not signing any documents, unless requested by your insurance agent or a police officer. Additionally, remain calm, polite and even if you think the accident may be your fault, do not admit any fault for the accident to anyone. Stay focused on the facts of the accident, and do not engage in any emotional conversation with any other parties involved in the accident. Do not discuss the accident with anyone besides your insurance agent and the police, and stay at the scene of the accident until the other drivers and the police leave.