Accident Checklist
Helpful Accident Checklist
Lifetime Warranty on Repairs | Competitively Priced | Free Estimate Within 30 Minutes
Lifetime Warranty on Repairs Competitively Priced
Free Estimate Within 30 Minutes
What to Know After an Accident
After an accident, your head may be spinning thinking about all the things that you're going to have to do for your vehicle. Tommy's Paint & Body Inc wants to make the process a little easier for our customers, so we've provided a helpful checklist of things to go over after your accident.
Take a look at the checklist below so that you know what to expect after your accident. When you need affordable, high-quality repairs, count on Tommy's Paint & Body Inc.
Here's What You Need to Do
- Call the police
- Exchange information
- Document Accident Details
- Arrange transportation of damaged vehicle
- Contact your insurance company
- You have the choice WHERE your vehicle is being repaired
- You have the choice HOW your vehicle is being repaired
Five Things to Do When You Get Into an Auto Accident
1. Call the police and obtain the following
- Officer's name, police report and citation info
- Don't discuss fault or details except with the officer
2. Exchange information
- Owner’s name
- Phone number
- Address
- Insurance company
- Policy number
3. Document accident details
- Photograph damages, license plate(s)
- Witness info
4. Transportation of damaged vehicle- Where your vehicle is being towed?
5. Contact your insurance company:
Before contacting either your own insurance company or the other driver’s, decide where you want your vehicle to be repaired, before being directed to a “preferred shop” on the insurance company’s list.
What the Insurance Company Won’t Tell You Unless You Ask
After an auto accident, most people have no idea what to do, how their vehicle is being repaired and, in some cases, where their vehicle is being repaired. It's your vehicle, so it's your choice.
Preferred shops that receive referrals from insurers are typically more concerned with a cost for the insurance company than quality for the vehicle owner. They also agree to minimize costs and pass the savings on to the insurer.
If an Insurance Company Directs You to a Shop on Their “Preferred List”
If I have my vehicle repaired at your preferred shop, will you pass on any savings to me and accept full liability over the shop, since you’re electing to repair?
Nearly every insurance policy allows for the use of salvaged and imitation collision repair parts. Look for the phrase: “like kind and quality parts” in the “Limits of Liability” section of your policy.
What this means is that you are agreeing that the insurance company can limit the payment of repairs to used and salvaged or imitation parts!
Questions Regarding the Use of Replacement Parts
Will all new original equipment parts be used in my repair and will either you or your adjuster notify me if imitation collision repair parts are specified in your estimate?
To receive new OEM parts in the future, the next time you renew your policy, ask for an all-new OEM parts endorsement. If it’s not offered, ask why.
Using OEM – Original Equipment Manufacturer collision repair parts during the auto body repair process provides confidence that the parts and the vehicle will continue to perform as designed and engineered by your manufacturer.
Body Shop Question About the Repair
Can you show me which panels are being repaired and which are being replaced and is it what the manufacturer recommends?
Can you tell me the type of parts that might be used in the repair and explain the difference between:
Can you tell me the type of parts that might be used in the repair and explain the difference between:
- New original equipment manufacturer parts
- Used / salvaged original equipment manufacturer parts
- Imitation parts – not made by your auto manufacturer
- Reconditioned parts – repaired, defective or damaged parts
Body Shop Question About Your Lease
Since I lease my vehicle, will you notify the insurance company that my collision repair parts are required to be Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts?
Shouldn’t you decide how your vehicle will be repaired? We’ll be happy to answer any questions! Call us right away.
Don’t Be Fooled by Terms Such As “Quality Replacement Parts”
This is an insurance industry term used for “imitation parts” that are not made by the auto manufacturer. (Ask about federal government crash test results for these parts.)
If you were involved in an accident and an insurance company:
- Recommended a “preferred shop” for your repairs
- You suspect that your vehicle was repaired using imitation / knockoff collision repair parts from a source other than your original equipment manufacturer
- And without your knowledge, understanding, and in some states, your written approval
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