Claims numbers, by company
Every company we place business with, and the line that takes a new claim. Calling is usually faster than a form — they will ask questions no form thinks to ask.
What to do before you leave the scene
Both cars from four corners, both plates, the damage close up, the whole intersection, the street signs, the road surface. Photos taken later cannot be taken at all.
Company name, policy number, name on the policy, plate, and their phone. Photograph the card rather than writing it down. Do not discuss whose fault it was — that is not decided at the scene.
In Texas and New Mexico, officers give you a card or a case number before they leave. Carriers ask for it on the first call, and chasing it afterwards costs days.
Reporting and claiming are two different things. Telling your carrier what happened is usually required by the policy itself, and it does not commit you to filing. What does cause trouble is a carrier hearing about a crash weeks later from the other driver’s insurer instead of from you — that is when a claim gets hard to pay.
If the damage looks smaller than your deductible and nobody else was involved, call us before you decide. It takes one conversation to work out whether a claim is worth making.
Questions people ask us
Either works, and there is no penalty for calling us first. We are your agent, not your insurer — the carrier decides and pays the claim, and we make sure it is reported correctly, chase it when it goes quiet, and translate what they tell you. A lot of people find that easier than starting alone.
Policies say "promptly" rather than a number of days, which sounds vague and is not: the clock that matters is how long the evidence lasts. Report it the same day if you can. Late reporting is one of the few things that can genuinely cost you a claim.
It depends on fault, on your record, and on the carrier — and it can go up after a not-at-fault claim with some companies and not with others. Nobody can promise you either way before the claim is decided. What we can do is re-shop your policy at renewal if it does move.
It is on your declarations page, usually $500 or $1,000, and it comes out of what the carrier pays for your own car — you never write us a cheque for it. If the other driver is found at fault, you can often get it back. Call and we will read your page with you.
Only if the policy carries rental coverage, and only for a covered claim. It is a separate coverage, it has a daily limit, and plenty of people find out they do not have it on the day they need it. Ask us and we will tell you what is on your policy right now.
Yes. You can claim against their insurer instead, and sometimes that is the right move — but tell yours what happened anyway. If the other carrier disputes fault or the driver turns out to be uninsured, you are going to need your own policy, and it is much easier when they already know. How a claim actually works →