After a car accident: the right steps, in the right order

First, make the scene safe

Right after a collision, the first danger is often the next one: a car coming up behind that does not see the obstruction. Before you look at the damage, make the accident visible and get everyone out of harm’s way.

1. Switch on your hazard lights and turn off the engine.
2. Put on your high-visibility vest before getting out.
3. Get passengers out on the side away from the traffic and move them behind a crash barrier or onto the verge.
4. Place the warning triangle far enough back for other drivers to slow down in time.
5. If the cars are blocking the way and nobody is hurt, move them once you have photographed where they stopped.

A report can be filled in on the pavement just as well as in the road, so never stand between two cars.

If anyone is hurt

As soon as someone is injured, even if it looks minor, call the emergency services and alert the police or the gendarmerie. Describe the location as precisely as you can, along with how many people are hurt and how they are.

• Do not move an injured person unless they are in immediate danger, from a fire for example.
• Do not remove an injured motorcyclist’s helmet.
• Give them nothing to eat or drink; keep them warm and talk to them until help arrives.
• When people are hurt, the police or gendarmerie draw up the official report; the joint accident report is still useful for the damage to the vehicles.

Keep a record

Memories fade quickly, and accounts can differ by the very next day. A few photographs taken on the spot carry more weight than a long explanation written afterwards.

• A wide shot showing where the vehicles are, the road and the signs.
• The damage to each vehicle, close up and from further away.
• The number plates of every vehicle involved.
• Marks on the road, debris and skid marks if there are any.
• The name and contact details of every witness willing to speak up.

Filling in the joint accident report

The joint accident report, the constat amiable, is filled in together, on the spot, by both drivers. It is a single form in two copies: what is written on one shows on the other, and each driver keeps one. It is not there to name a culprit; the insurers decide who is liable from what you describe on it.

1. Details of each driver, each vehicle and each insurance policy, copied from the documents rather than from memory.
2. The point of first impact, marked on the outline of each car.
3. The circumstance boxes, ticked for each vehicle; then write down how many boxes you ticked, so nothing can be added later.
4. The sketch: the road, each car’s direction of travel, where the vehicles were at the moment of impact, and the signs.
5. Your remarks, if you disagree with any point.
6. Both signatures, once everything has been filled in and read through.

Never sign anything you do not agree with, and never change a report after it has been signed: it would lose its value.

If the other driver refuses

Sometimes the other driver will not fill in the report, or simply drives off. Do not get into an argument and do not chase them. Gather what will help identify them instead.

• Write down the number plate, and the visible make, model and colour of the vehicle.
• Ask witnesses for their contact details and whether they will describe what they saw.
• Fill in your own side of the report and describe the refusal in the remarks.
• If the driver leaves the scene, report it to the police or gendarmerie without delay.

Declaring the claim to your insurer

Send your copy of the report and your photographs to your insurer within the few days your contract sets. You will find that deadline in your general terms, and missing it can complicate your claim or even put it at risk.

At Hima, you declare a claim online from your customer area: attach the report and the photographs, then follow your file step by step, from receipt to settlement, without having to travel anywhere.

Keep a copy of everything you send, the report included: it is your reference if a question comes up later.

The assessor, the repair and the payout

When the damage warrants it, the insurer sends an assessor who inspects the vehicle and estimates the damage and the cost of repair. Wait for the inspection, or for the assessor’s go-ahead, before having the car repaired, except for anything needed to keep it safe.

• The assessor writes a report, and the amount you are paid rests on it.
• Keep the replaced parts and the invoices until the file is closed.
• Agreements between insurers often mean your own insurer pays you first and then recovers the cost from the other driver’s insurer.
• Depending on who was liable and on your cover, an excess may remain yours to pay.