Good Advice After Getting In A Fender Bender
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - A lot of cars fell victim to the big snowstorm.
4 On Your Side Consumer Investigator Jodi Brooks reported on advice for anyone who is involved in an accident during winter storms.
Back in the day insurance companies recommended keeping a disposable camera in a vehicle's glove compartment. Now accident victims can use their phone. Take a picture of the damage. It may just be the difference between an insurance company covering a claim or not.
On Friday in Aurora there was a fender bender. One driver accepted the blame.
"They stopped kind of suddenly and I hit my breaks and I slid, slid, slid," the driver said.
Aurora was on accident alert at the time, so the two drivers initially tried to handle things between them by exchanging information.
"Now we're just trying to figure out something between us like civil," the driver said.
Insurance experts say that's a bad idea.
"Since this guy, he doesn't have insurance and he's the one that hit me, I had no choice (but to call police)," driver Dave Rodriguez said.
The driver had no insurance and he's not the registered owner of the car. In an accident alert situation when no one is hurt insurance experts recommend exchanging names and addresses of all drivers, passengers, and witnesses. Write down license plate numbers and make and model of each car. Get driver's license numbers and insurance information.
Document as much as possible. Insurance companies will always do their own investigation, but pictures don't lie.
"We were just on our way home. We were almost home and this happens," Rodriguez said.
Aurora police ended up issuing the driver with no insurance a ticket. That ticket will help Rodriguez with his insurance claim.
There are a lot of drivers without insurance. That is why insurance experts say drivers need uninsured/under-insured motorist coverage. It's about $65 a year.
