Motor Claims

What to do after an Accident?

Most people are badly shaken up right after being involved in an accident. Taking the time now to review the steps you should follow after an auto accident will help reduce the anxiety surrounding the incident and avoid costly and time-consuming mistakes.

At the Scene of the Accident

• Stop your vehicle and survey the scene and determine whether there are any serious injuries.
• Call the police/ambulance depending on the circumstances.
• Give whatever help you can to the injured but avoid moving anyone so you don't aggravate the injury.
• Covering an injured person with a blanket and making that person comfortable usually is as much as you can do.
• If you are hurt and require an ambulance, call our 24 hour Motor Assist at 625-4461 and give them your name, vehicle number and location.
• Do NOT ADMIT liability to anyone at the scene of an accident.

Obtain the following information from the other party:

• Vehicle license number
• Driver’s name
• Owner’s name (if different)
• Driver’s phone numbers at work and at home
• Owner’s phone numbers at work and at home
• Insurer and policy number
• Names, addresses and telephone numbers of witnesses
• Note areas of damage to both vehicles

 You should also:

• Make a sketch of the scene of the accident noting street names, traffic lights stop signs etc....
• Do not move the vehicle if anyone has been injured until after the police have been to the scene. If the vehicles are moved, mark their positions.
• Report the accident to the nearest Police Station as soon as possible (preferably accompanied by the third party) and produce your driver’s license and insurance certificate.

Try to protect the accident scene. Take reasonable steps to protect your car from further damage, such as getting the car off the road and calling Motor Assist to move the vehicle to a place of safety.

Make notes. Keep a pad and pencil in your glove compartment. Write down the names and addresses of all drivers and passengers involved in the accident. Record the names and badge numbers of police officers or other emergency personnel.

Filing Your Claim

If your car is involved in an accident, damaged by fire, flood or vandalism, or if it is stolen, put your insurance to work for you by following these steps in filing your claim:

• Immediately or with a reasonable time frame phone your insurance company, agent or broker.
• Determine what forms or documents will be needed to support your claim.
• Supply the information your insurer needs. Cooperate with your insurance company in its investigation, settlement or defense of any claim and turn over to the company immediately copies of any legal papers you receive in connection with your loss.
• Keep records of your expenses. You will be required to prove your loss to your insurance company or to the third party’s insurance company.

The Next Step

• Obtain an estimate for repairs from a garage and submit it to us as soon as possible.
• Complete an accident claim report as soon as possible. This is available from any of our offices, the Garage, our agents or can be downloaded from our website [www.ggil.biz].
• Obtain a VAT Clearance Certificate from the VAT office

Important Notes

If you have coverage for a courtesy car, you can request a replacement car while your vehicle is being repaired (up to the specified number of days that it would take to repair the vehicle but to a maximum of 10 days – refer to GGIL policy for further details).

If the Company either repairs the vehicle or is paying the garage directly for repairs, our Service Representative will call and advise you to pay any applicable excess.