You’ve undoubtedly heard it a million times: if you’re unfortunate enough to be involved in a vehicular accident, you must promptly exchange information with the other motorist. This often entails sharing information such as drivers’ licenses, vehicle registrations, contact information, and, of course, insurance information.
However, what if you are involved in an accident and the other driver won’t provide their information?
While acquiring insurance information is a necessary step in filing an accident claim, the unwillingness of another motorist to disclose insurance and registration information is not a cause for alarm. You can obtain all necessary documents even if the driver refuses to comply and provide you with his or her insurance card.
What you should do next is as follows:
Confirm your safety.
When you’re still in shock from an accident, it’s easy to lose track of what’s occurring presently. Take a minute to check for injuries to yourself and any passengers, and if possible, move your automobile to a secure location, after you take photos of the accident scene and the position of the cars.
Contact the police.
It might seem absurd to engage the police in such a matter if it is a minor accident such as a fender bender. However, a police record is often very useful when submitting an insurance claim, so if everyone is in good health, contact the police non-emergency number (use 911 if there are injuries or severe damage). If possible, get a police report number.
Contact 911 after an accident to report it, especially if there are injuries — even before exchanging insurance information. It is vital to call the police and have them record the incident. The police will compile a report detailing the accident and its circumstances. The report will include the following information:
- The date, time, and location of the accident
- Contact details for both drivers
- The state of the road at the time of the incident
- Contributing factors to the accident
Insurance firms representing the drivers involved in the collision will examine this police report to determine who they believe was at fault for the collision. Along with completing the accident report, the police will be able to acquire the necessary insurance information from the other motorist if he or she refuses to comply. If the police did not come and obtain information from the driver who caused the accident, then we can often contact the DMV and attempt to procure the insurance information of the other driver.
Remember everything about the accident and write it all down.
Get a pen and paper or open the notes app on your phone and start writing down your thoughts. The license plate number, the color, make, or model of the other vehicle or any information about the driver might be helpful in an accident investigation.
You don’t want to find yourself gazing at a blank page at the end of the day.
Capture the moment with your camera.
The ability to take high-quality photos at the drop of a feather is one of the most appealing aspects of owning a smartphone. Take photographs of your automobile, any damage it incurred, and the location where the accident occurred.
Even the simplest facts may assist authorities to discover the other motorist in the event of a hit-and-run accident and may be critical in determining who is at fault if the other drives later decides to lie to their insurance company about what happened. Almost every day we see cases where the driver who caused the accident, later goes home and lies about the facts to try to place blame on the victim.
Witnesses may be in the area.
There is a good probability that everyone else in the area has a phone, thus there is a good potential that someone else may have captured video or audio proof of your accident. For example, witnesses may tell you things like the direction the driver drove after the accident or the identifying traits of their vehicle, even if no one else was present at the scene to take a picture or video.
If your insurance company or the police need to contact any of your witnesses, make a note of their contact information.
Wait for the police to arrive and be calm.
However, if the other vehicle is still on the scene and refusing to provide you with their insurance information or provide you with any other information, you should avoid getting into a big fight and making matters worse. After an accident, it’s normal to be overwhelmed with emotions, but you don’t want to put yourself in danger.
It’s best if the other motorist cooperates straight immediately, but if they don’t, you don’t want to get into a heated fight.
Keep your cool until the cops arrive. Both parties’ insurance information will be collected by the police officers when they come and talk to each of you. Talk to any witnesses you come across and take a lot of photos of the accident site while you wait for the police to arrive.
You must be patient and wait for the police to acquire the information you need from the other motorist since the other driver cannot refuse to do so. As a result of the other motorist not providing their insurance information, police officers should be made aware of this fact.
Get in touch with your insurance company\
Notifying your insurance company about an accident even if the other driver speeds away or refuses to provide their information is still necessary. Even though your insurance company requires you to contact them within a reasonable amount of time, they may also be able to alleviate some of the burdens by doing so for you.
You may now wonder whether you’re covered if you get into an accident with an uninsured or underinsured driver under your vehicle insurance coverage.
It all depends on who is at fault, but in most cases, the other driver’s insurance will cover the damage to your vehicle and any medical expenses.
Suppose the other driver either has no insurance, or not enough insurance to cover all of your medical expenses and pain and suffering. What would you do? As a result, it’s critical to ensure that you have enough insurance coverage if the at-fault does not.
The claims procedure may begin after you get the other driver’s insurance details. The first step is to notify your insurance carrier about the accident. When determining who is to blame, they will contact the other driver’s insurance company and request the other driver’s details and request a recorded statement to investigate the other driver’s version of what happened.
According to the police investigation, many of the variables that led up to the collision will be taken into account. There may be some dispute between both insurance companies about who is to blame for the accident.
IN CONCLUSION
Check your vehicle insurance coverage immediately to determine whether you’re protected against uninsured or underinsured drivers. An expert personal injury lawyer can assist you if the other motorist is refusing to cooperate after an accident and you have been injured or your property has been harmed.
Call the Pros today for your free consultation!
