My youngest son was involved in a car accident about 10 days ago. The good news is he was not injured although he is a little sore from the airbag deploying and sustained some minor cuts from flying glass when the driver’s window shattered. It could have been a lot worse. His mom called me to let me know he’d been in an accident and that he was not hurt. She also asked me a question related to filing a car insurance claim that is worth sharing.
The question my son’s mom asked was how would they get the insurance information from the other driver who was involved in the accident? Our son was emotionally shook up after the accident, which was understandable, and neglected to exchange car insurance information with the other driver.
Several people called 911 and the Dallas Police and Fire Department arrived at the scene of the accident within a few minutes. The EMT checked on my son and the other driver as the police called out wreckers for both vehicles and took statements from my son and the other driver. Both drivers were provided information on who to contact for a copy of the police report which would be available within a 5 to 10 business days
It’s pretty common for people who’ve been involved in an accident to forget to exchange car insurance information after an accident the police respond to. Even if no one’s hurt, they may be flustered or involved in providing information and a statement to a police officer. The good news is Texas drivers don’t have to fret. Texas police departments have access to a database each of us contributes to when we pay our car insurance bill.
Car insurance companies operating in Texas provide information to this database on what drivers have an active policy, who it’s with, the policy number, and which vehicles are covered by the policy. This information will be included with the police report which is usually available in 5 to 10 days after the accident. These reports are made available to the driver as well as the insurance company. Even if the driver didn’t exchange car insurance information, they will be able to get it from the police report.
Having that information from the police report is very helpful to either party involved in an accident. I don’t recommend, however, anyone depend on the police report to obtain that information as this may slow the claim process down by one to two weeks. It may also change how you file the claim depending on who’s at fault and who they have their car insurance with. Obtaining that information at the scene of your accident may give you the information you need more quickly.
I’m grateful my son was not hurt. I’m also grateful the police report will give he and his mom the information they need to process their claim. What do you think? Share your questions, comments, and experiences with me on my Facebook, Google +, and LinkedIn pages. I’d love to hear from you!
