The reasons why car accidents happen are varied, but what you should do immediately following an accident applies to all situations. It is important to know before you get into an accident what to do, so that you can remember if you ever need to. This checklist will help you know the steps to take after a car accident.

Assess the Extent of Damage or Injuries – As best you can, try to stay calm. Don’t panic, it will make the situation worse. Try to determine the extent of damage and see if there are any injuries that need immediate medical attention. Call 911.

Make Sure You File a Car Accident Report with the Police – It is important to have a legal accident report even if the accident is minor. Do not leave the scene until the police file a full report. In some cases, you can get into legal trouble for leaving the scene of an accident.

Record the Accident Facts – It is vital to get all the facts – names, address, and phone numbers of everyone involved in the accident. Make sure you get a description of the car and license plate number. Ask for the contact information for the insurance company and the vehicle identification number of all the people involved in the accident.

Call Your Insurance Agent – Call your insurance agent or insurance company’s 800-number immediately, even at the scene. It is most helpful to do this with the police if at all possible. Often times the police officer can provide more accurate information. This will expedite the filing of your claim.

If you have a car, then you have car insurance. Most all states have laws that require car insurance. But do you really know what coverage your policy has? If you are in an accident, what will your insurance cover and what will you be expected to cover? It is important to understand the basic coverage that your policy has and what each component really means to you in case you are involved in a car accident.

Here are the basic types of coverage included in most automobile insurance policies:

Property Damage Liability – This is what most people think their car insurance is for. This covers property damages to another individual’s car if you or a family member have caused an accident.

Bodily Injury Liability – This provides coverage for bodily injury claims from hospitals and doctors for individual’s injured in an accident

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage – This coverage protects you if your car has been hit by a negligent driver that doesn’t have insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance to cover damages. In most all cases, this covers bodily injury losses, and sometimes property damage losses.

Physical Damage Coverage – This will cover damages to your car if you are involved in a automobile collision or if your car is damaged in a storm.

These are abbreviated descriptions of insurance coverage that might be included in your automobile policy. Call Insurance Doctor if you have questions about your current policy.

GAP stands for Guaranteed Auto Protection. Often referred to as GAP, this insurance term represents the gap in coverage between how much a person owes on a vehicle and how much it is worth. GAP insurance is necessary in almost all vehicle insurance policies and is available at a relatively low cost.

How can you owe more on a car than it is worth? Actually when you buy a brand new car and drive it off the lot, the value of your vehicle plummets as much as 30%. So if you are involved in an accident a month or two after buying a brand new car, you could be in trouble without GAP insurance. Even with full coverage, which includes comprehensive and collision, you will only receive the market value of your vehicle which could be 20%-30% lower than your purchase price. Without GAP insurance, you will have to pay the difference between the loan value and the insurance pay-off; it could easily be thousands of dollars.

Find out if you have GAP insurance with your current insurance plan. This is an important provision in you policy that will offer peace of mind and prevent you from having to pay the difference between your loan amount on the car and the actual market value of the car in case of an accident. Before buying or leasing a new car, check to see if you have GAP insurance as part of your automobile insurance policy.

If you have questions about GAP insurance or your automobile insurance coverage, call Insurance Doctor.

If you are new to insurance and new to the terminology, you may not know what a deductible is. The deductible is the amount you have agreed to pay out-of-pocket towards your claim before your insurance begins to pay.

For example, let’s say that you are involved in an accident and the damages to your car are estimated at $1,500. If your deductible is $500, you will pay the first $500, and your insurance company will pay the remaining $1,000 to get your car repaired. But if the damages are less than $500, then you will pay for all of the repairs because it is less than the amount of your set deductible.

In addition to understanding what a deductible is, it is important to know that your deductible can have an impact on your insurance premiums. A lower deductible means you will pay less if you are in an accident. Your insurance company will be covering more of the repair costs. Because of this, a lower deductible will result in a higher premium. If you increase your deductible, it will usually lower your premiums.

If you have questions about your insurance policy and your deductible or you are starting to shop around for car insurance for the first time, call Insurance Doctor. We specialize in finding you the best possible deal on the policy that best fits your current needs.