To get hold of compensation however it is important that you act in the right way, say the right thing and, more importantly, don’t say anything to the insurance company who could eventually make your payout that could damage your chances of making a claim.
Here is a list of the five things you really should avoid saying if you want to see a compensation payout coming into your bank account:
1) Apologise or admit it was your fault at the crash scene
Although car accidents are scary, you should try to remain as calm as possible after the event, especially if there is another driver involved. They may start accusing you of being at fault, however, you should never succumb in any way. Never say sorry or admit liability as the other party can use this against you in any claim against them.
2) Speculate to your insurance company
When you call your insurance company after your car accident, never speculate about what happened. Keep it to the basic facts about what you saw, and no more than this. An insurance company would suspect you have made something up if you begin to add ‘I believe...’ into your statements and could find out that the story is different to what you have told them with further investigation.
3) Say that you’re not injured
Until you have been checked by a doctor you should never say you have not been injured, even if you are not in any pain immediately. The most common injury following a car accident is whiplash, which can often take a few days to start feeling the effects from. Saying you are not injured could jeopardise your chances of receiving a payout later on.
4) Admit fault to the insurance company
In the days after a crash the mind often plays tricks on you, and when you think about the events for long enough, you do start to blame yourself even if you know that you weren’t at fault. If this does happen to you, you should never say to your insurance company that you think you may be to blame, as they may get an admission of liability from the other person.
5) That you think you have a certain injury, e.g. whiplash
You should not go speculating about what injuries you may have suffered without first receiving proper medical attention. There are an increasing number of fraudulent claims, and crash scams that see people claim for whiplash. For this reason, insurance companies are becoming increasingly suspicious of people who immediately claim to have this injury. Let the experts weigh up all the evidence, and have a thorough medical examination before declaring what injuries you have.
