How Do You Make A Commercial Auto Insurance Claim??

If you get in an accident while driving your business vehicle, your commercial auto insurance policy should cover the repairs and any medical bills. Like any insurance, this will depend on your coverage options and policy limits. But you also need to follow the correct steps. Here’s what you should do.

File A Police Report 

Always file a police report after any accident. It provides important evidence about how the crash happened. And it also confirms the identity of the drivers to avoid a situation where someone gives false information to avoid paying for an accident. A police report isn’t always required for insurance, but your insurance company will still want to see it.

Call Your Insurance Company Right Away 

Call your insurance company from the scene of the accident if you’re able. Sometimes, they may want to send someone out to investigate the accident. Even if they don’t, or can’t get there in time, it helps the claims process get started as quickly as possible. In addition, they can help you with such items as arranging a tow to an approved body shop and getting a rental car for you to drive home. If you’ve selected roadside assistance and rental car coverage in your policy, these extra services will likely be at no charge.

Notify Your Personal Car Insurance Company 

If you personally own the vehicle you were driving and also carry personal car insurance on it, notify your personal auto insurance company, as well as your commercial auto insurance company. If there’s any doubt about which insurance company should cover the accident, you can let them handle it between themselves.

Request Records From Your Monitoring Services 

Many businesses have tracking devices and dash cameras on their vehicles. Often, the data automatically erases after a certain number of days. Notify your service provider to save the data or download it yourself if you’re able. The data may or may not be detailed enough to help prove what happened in your accident, but you should save it now in case you need it later.

File A Written Claim 

Be sure to file a written claim for your accident — even if you’ve spoken to your commercial auto insurance company by phone. This may be as simple as filling out the forms they send you. But you need to follow any deadlines in your policy to make sure they’ll cover your claim.