What are the deadlines for declaring a car accident?

 What are the deadlines for declaring a car accident?



After a car accident, vehicle theft or any other disaster, it is necessary to notify your insurance quickly. But how much time do you have? And what information should you provide to your insurer? Update on the documents and deadlines for declaring a car accident.
When to report a car accident?
A claim is considered to be any damage involving compensation from the insurer, whether material or bodily. Auto claims include car theft, vehicle fire, glass breakage, but also road accidents.
However, depending on the disaster, the reporting period is not the same. In detail, to file your claim, you have:
2 days for car theft, from the day you become aware of the claim;
5 days for a road accident, fire or broken glass, from the day you become aware of it;
10 days in the event of a natural disaster, after publication of the interministerial natural disaster decree in the Official Journal.
Good to know
If you are a Matmut member, you can very simply declare a car accident. Thanks to this support, you have no time limit to complete your declaration online. This is done using a simplified form, guided input, and you can attach all the necessary documents in a few clicks.
Read also: Bodily accident: what compensation by insurance?
How do I report a car accident?
In the event of an Auto claim, declare it quickly to your insurer to enable it to determine the terms of compensation, to take all measures for the expertise and to facilitate the repair of your vehicle, the provision of a replacement vehicle (subject to your contract).
Online, by phone or in an Agency, you will be asked for the following information:
the place ;
date and time;
the nature of the loss and the circumstances (theft, collision, leaving the road, etc.);
the nature of the damage suffered by your vehicle, by that of a third party, by the public domain (street furniture, roadway, etc.);
the identity, address and contact details of the insurers of the persons involved (other drivers, potential victims, witnesses, etc.).
These elements are necessary for the constitution and processing of your file.
Another document to provide if necessary, the part of the joint report that you will have recovered. It details in particular the conditions in which the disaster took place. The report will facilitate the compensation procedure, by providing additional elements of understanding to insurers. As a reminder, once the report has been signed by the parties involved, it is no longer possible to modify or add information to the front.
In the event of theft, it is necessary to attach to your statement a copy of the complaint filed at the police station or gendarmerie.
Finally, if you wish, you can also provide the following additional elements:
photos taken at the scene of the accident, with the vehicles involved, in order to support and illustrate your statements;
the police or gendarmerie report concerning the circumstances of the accident;
testimonials from third parties, specifying their surnames, first names and contact details.