What is it about car insurance claim forms that turn normally rational people into gibbering wrecks incapable of thinking, let alone driving, in a straight line?
Like the motorist who wrote, “The accident happened because I had one eye on the lorry in front, one eye on the pedestrian and the other on the car behind.” Or the woman who observed on her claim form: “The gentleman behind me struck me on the backside. He then went to rest in a bush with just his rear end showing. ” And how about this for skewed logic: “No one was to blame for the accident… but it would never have happened if the other driver had been alert.”
Of course these are the minor masterpieces of nonsense that cheer up the day of hard-pressed insurance processors. But what about those run of the mill forms, which may not be quite so hilarious, but rather tragically inadequate accounts of an incident?
Every year thousands of people risk higher insurance premiums or even legal action and compensation claims, simply because they don’t collect adequate evidence at the scene of the accident. Their car may not have been too seriously damaged, but their bank balance and reputation certainly could be. But now help is at hand for all of us in the shape of the UK’s very first accident camera kit, Crashmate®.
It comes in a neat roll up case that fits easily into the glove compartment and contains absolutely everything you need in the event of a car accident to get your side of the story correct down to the last centimetre. The beauty of Crashmate® is that it understands even the slightest shunt can put a normally levelheaded motorist into a bit of a spin. So there’s a handy step-by-step guide to what you need to do, including what information to give and collect.
One very neat trick is the chance to pre-fill forms for your own insurance details which you then simply tear off and hand over if needed. There are also forms for third party information, witnesses, police attendance and so on. And because few of us are expert draughtsmen – a comprehensive selection of road layout diagrams that just have to be completed with vehicle positions. The kit even includes a handy pen and pencil.
But the real pièce de résistance is the opportunity to collect some watertight visual evidence thanks to a 12 exposure disposable camera kit and tape measure. They say the camera never lies, and certainly any insurance company is likely to be paying up a lot earlier if you can actually show such things as vehicle positioning, road markings, signage, weather conditions, obstructions and damage.
