What to do if you have an accident

In many circumstances you will not be able to prevent an accident, especially if the accident is not your fault. If you are involved in an accident, there are several steps you need to undertake.

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What are the laws regarding Motor insurance in the United Kingdom?: Motor insurance originated in 1930, when the government introduced a law that required every person who used a vehicle on the road to have some kind of motor insurance policy. This had to be third party personal injury cover at the very least.
What is Third party fire and theft Motor insurance?: Whilst technically your legal requirements for motor insurance are covered by a third party only policy they only protect the people with whom you share the roads, not yourself. The law requires that people who are involved in an accident that is not caused by themselves, be compensated. So, with third party insurance you may be protected against other people's claims against you, but not if you are responsible for the accident.
What is a Comprehensive Motor Insurance policy cover?: Comprehensive cover is when you cover your vehicle against most forms of damage that may occur to your vehicle. This doesn't mean you are covered for absolutely everything. If you look in depth into your comprehensive car insurance contract you'll probably find some significant exclusions.
Why do some Motor insurers specialise in just lady drivers?: Every Motor Insurance company is different, each have specific market niches that they try and specialise in, some choose mature drivers, some lady drivers and some young drivers.
Who do I contact if I have a complaint against a finance house?: First you must address your original contact you dealt with, ask them for their job title and then request that the provide you with the name of the person who handles complaints. Traditionally, finance houses are required by the FSA to have a complaints procedure, and you should ask for details of this.

Firstly, you need to look through your certificate of motor insurance to identify whether or not you are covered. For example with third party insurance only your passengers are covered, not your vehicle itself, so any repairs to the car itself are your responsibility. If you can prove that you were blameless in the accident all the repair costs are paid by the other party involved in the crash.

Comprehensive motor insurance often allows the policy holder to take additional personal injury cover, however in most circumstances the maximum allowed is around £5,000. The premium for this cover is unlikely to be that much so it is well worth adding to your policy, do be aware that the faster the car the greater this additional premium is likely to be.

Don't panic after being involved in an accident, it is your legal responsibility to both exchange insurer details with the other parties involved and also to report the accident to the police within 4 hours, especially if there has been an injury caused. The insurer also often requires you to provide to the during the claims procedure an incident provided to you when you report the accident to the police.

Do not lose your temper, the other party involved in the accident may be angry and try to start an argument with you. You must also NOT, under any circumstances, admit liability at the scene of an accident. You should also try to get an independent witness of the accident to note the position of the vehicles before they are moved.

You must take the details of all parties involved and the details of any witness’ to the accident as well as the car number plate and their important details such as a rough check-up of the damage cause to both your car AND their car. When you have collected all the necessary information leave then scene of the accident and pass all the information you gathered to your insurance company.