We all hope it never happens to us, but if you do find yourself involved in an accident, it pays to be prepared.
If you’re a Zego customer and you’ve been involved in an accident, please use the Zego Sense app to submit your claim. Alternatively, you can call us.
We’ll help to get you back on track.
We spoke to our experts to find out exactly what you should do following a collision.
Here’s what to do when an accident happens
1. Make yourself and others safe
- If you can, move your vehicle to a safe place, like a layby or side road.
- Turn off the engine and switch on your hazard lights.
- If the accident happens on a motorway, try to move safely to the hard shoulder and stand well away from your vehicle and moving traffic.
- Take a few deep breaths — stay as calm as you can.
- Check yourself and your passengers for signs of injury.
2. Call the police
The Road Traffic Act says that you need to report any accident to the police within 24 hours.
If it’s an emergency situation, or anyone has been injured, call 999. If the accident isn’t an emergency, you should call 101.
3. Exchange information
As a driver, you must give your name, address, vehicle and insurance details to anyone involved in the accident. Be sure to also get the same information from any other drivers involved — we’ll need those details during the claims process.
But, don’t say sorry just yet! Avoid apologising or admitting responsibility until it’s clear what happened. Doing so could make you liable, even if it wasn’t your fault.
4. Gather details at the scene
It’s important to record as much information as you can before leaving the scene of the accident. This will help to speed up the claims process for everyone involved.
Try to collect the following information:
- The make, model, colour and registration of any vehicles involved in the accident.
- The date and time of the crash.
- Use your phone to take pictures or videos of the scene (you can do this with the Sense app) — capture the positions of the vehicles, and any damage caused by the collision.
- Make a note of any injuries to drivers, number of passengers or pedestrians.
- Take the names and contact details of any witnesses who saw what happened — also make a note of any CCTV cameras that might have captured footage of the accident.
- Also, capture or make a note of the road and weather conditions.
5. Submit your claim to us
The easiest way to report an accident is through the Zego Sense app.
Once you’ve captured as much information as you can, simply open the app and tap ‘Incidents’ to let us know what happened.
Try to do this straight away, ideally on the same day, to avoid any delays with your claim.
Alternatively, you can call us directly and let us know what happened — we’ll get your claim started for you.
Find out more about making a claim with Zego.