If you are involved in any major accident a police report is absolutely necessary, but what about that fender bender? You will definitely need a police report:

• When anyone is injured or seems to be in shock.
• When anyone involved flees the scene.
• When there is serious damage to one or more vehicles.
• When a driver involved refuses to give you his or her license, contact or insurance information.
• When a driver admits to having no insurance.
• When blame is falsely assigned or you feel as if the accident happened differently than described.

In most cases it is a good idea to have a police report written up on the accident. In fact many insurance agencies will require a police report before accepting the claim. When involved in an accident it’s hard to remember all the important information necessary for filing a claim. A police report will collect all the important information from phone numbers and license plate numbers to insurance information.

After a report has been filed be sure and collect infomation as you can yourself to offer yoru insurance agent or adjuster. If you have all or most of the information the insurance company may need to get from the police report your claim may be processed more quickly. In this case it’s a good idea to keep an accident check list in your car. When in doubt call to have an officer at the scene and file a police report.