Whether we like it or not, accidents happen! In fact, about 50% of corporate vehicles will incur an accident or incident each year - from minor scrapes to serious road accidents involving other vehicles.
Make sure you are acquainted with your insurer’s emergency telephone numbers and claim logging details or process by saving the details on your phone or printing and storing it in your vehicle.
1. In the event of an accident where the vehicle is non-drivable, contact your insurer immediately to log the incident. They’ll probably dispatch the nearest available towing unit to the scene. If your insurer offers tow-in assistance, don’t allow any another towing operator, other than the one communicated to you, to tow your vehicle. Unnecessary towing and release fees could be incurred by you.
2. Once the call has been logged, you’ll most likely be required to fully complete a claim form that will be sent to you. The completed claim form, together with a clear enlarged copy of your driver’s licence, must be sent back to your insurer as soon as possible to speed up the claims process and reduce the possible down time of the vehicle. Most insurers will not issue an instruction to start the repair process until these documents have been received.
3. Your insurer may only work with specific panel beaters and, in this case, you may be advised which panel beaters will be in contact with you in order to compile the necessary quotes. Use the recommended panel beaters as using any other company could mean you have to incur these costs.
4. Your insurer should then manage the entire process, which may include:
Always make sure you follow the correct procedures in the event of an accident. If you’d like us to assist with the accident management for your fleet, contact us below:
*EQSTRA Financial Services is an authorised financial services provider offering its customers custom designed comprehensive motor cover, underwritten by Guardrisk Insurance Company, and tailored to provide a total accident control program resulting in overall fleet cost reduction. Call us on 0861 Eqstra (377872) to see if we can help you.