Oh, no! Your car’s been in an accident! You have insurance - does that mean everything will be ok? You calm yourself down enough to make a quick call to your insurance agent. That seems to be going OK, until they tell you that they can’t help you, and you’ve got to call the claims department. What will they ask? What will they say? Now you really start to worry.

Relax. Making a claim on your auto insurance doesn’t have to be the most stressful event of your life. The insurance companies have been through this thousands of times, and they have developed procedures to make the process relatively easy and problem-free. They know that their future success depends on how they treat their customers, and that there is a lot of competition out there for your insurance dollar.

Agencies usually develop relationships with body shops and other repair shops in your area. They will know who does good work for an honest price. Your insurance company will ask you if you have a particular shop you’d like to work with, but it’s usually best to go with their suggestion. If it is a shop they have a relationship with, they may be able to take care of the entire process by phone.

Usually, your claim will be processed without much involvement on our part. The repair shop will work directly with the company in terms of quoting repair costs and getting the insurance company’s authorization. All they may need from you is a signature so that they can go to work on your vehicle.

But even with all of these conveniences, it still pays to be careful and protect yourself. Make sure that all of the necessary repairs are part of the repair order; sometimes there are deeper problems beneath the surface. Make sure that the repair shop has done everything necessary to find those deeper issues. Once the work is done, inspect the vehicle carefully before you drive it off the stop lot. It is much harder to bring it back and convince the shop and the insurance company that a problem was there when you picked the car up.

And as long as you are in this position, think about your auto insurance. Good auto insurance is worth its weight in gold. You can save a few dollars on your premiums, but how much is that worth when you’re fighting a claim for months on end, or a claim is denied altogether?

Some agencies outsource their claims, meaning that another company is actually in charge of making the decisions regarding repair. This is especially true if there is a possibility that the car will be declared “totaled.” If this is the case, make sure you know what the true value of your vehicle is. You can talk to a bank loan officer, a car dealership, or use the internet to get an idea of what this is.

Don’t worry too much, though. Most of the time, submitting an auto insurance claim is a quick and straightforward process. If it isn’t, and you feel you were poorly treated, take your business to the competition and show you insurance agent what you think of their service.

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