During the last few months, we've had a number of posts about accidents with cars and how to handle police reports and insurance claims. One of these was
mine , so I thought I'd share the final results of the situation.
The driver who hit me was at fault enough that he apparently reported the accident to his insurance company on his own, because his claims administrator called me a couple days after the incident. I sent her digital photos of my minor injuries and damaged bike. A week later, I sent receipts for about $200 of repair/replacement expenses (most of that was for a new helmet) and $90 for a doctor's visit. The insurance company sent me a check for the $200 bike and helmet costs within a couple of weeks.
The claims admin also sent me a medical release form, so she could get my records from my doctor. I gave my permission, but I'm not sure if she ever actually requested the records themselves. I had to follow-up a few times by email and phone, but this morning everything was resolved: the insurance company offered me a
$500 settlement for my medical/injury claim.
One other random element to this incident is that the DMV sent me a couple of form letters requesting my driver's license and car insurance information, indicating that I was required by CA law to provide this information within 10 days of an accident. Their form letters indicated that if I didn't provide that info, my license would be suspended! I had to write and call them a couple of times before they figured out the error in their file, that I was on a
bike not in a
car.
So, my take-away from this experience is...
- Get the driver's contact and insurance info, DL number, license plate, car make, etc.
- Call the police and file a report (I didn't, so was lucky not to have had a problem afterwards)
- Take photos of your injuries and damaged bike, clothing, helmet, etc.
- Keep receipts for all of your related expenses
- File a claim with the driver's insurance company
- Be polite but persistant at all times
- Follow-up with the insurance company regularly, but expect to wait a bit
Hope this helps!
Steven