August 16, 2022 | By William Mattar, P.C.
After an Accident Does a Police Report Automatically Get Sent to Insurance Companies?
After you’ve been in an accident, you probably have a lot of thoughts racing through your mind and one of them might be, “does the accident report automatically get sent to my insurance company?”
Generally speaking, it is safer to assume that insurance companies will only know about your accident if and when they are put on formal notice of a claim. At that point, the insurance company may ask for a copy of the police report from the insured or directly from New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.
Police Reports
Police reports contain important information regarding your car accident. The insurance company, or companies, will generally want to review this information while processing the claim.
Within the police report, you may find the following information:
- Date and approximate time/location of the accident;
- Names and contact information of involved parties
- Eyewitness contact information
- Recorded damages to vehicles
- Road, weather, and lighting conditions during the accident
- Diagram of the accident
- Statements from those involved
- Officer’s opinion regarding cause and fault
Of course, the fact that certain information is contained in the police report does not mean that it is one-hundred percent accurate. For example, impressions about causative factors and fault may be unreliable if the responding officers did not directly witness the accident.
New York State Insurance Procedures
New York is a no-fault insurance state, which means that after a car accident, in most circumstances, certain economic losses, including lost wages and medical expenses, will be covered by an insurance company regardless of fault. An attorney can help you identify the correct insurance company and ensure they are put on notice. An attorney can also help you identify any potentially responsible parties and ensure their insurance companies are put on notice. A separate claim can be filed with these other insurance companies, who must generally pay damages caused by their insureds, up to a certain insurance “limit” or agreed-upon amount. If the at-fault motorist does not have car insurance, or lacks adequate insurance coverage, an uninsured motorist (“UM”) or supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist (“SUM”) claim can be made with the appropriate insurance companies.
Most insurance policies require insureds to cooperate. By failing to provide certain requested information, those injured in car accidents may risk non-compliance with this duty to cooperate, which could potentially cause a denial of insurance coverage. An experienced attorney can assess the situation and help ensure that insurance notice requirements are met.
Hurt in a Car? Call William Mattar
At William Mattar, P.C., we help people after they suffer personal injuries in motor vehicle accidents. With more than 25 years of experience representing thousands of injured victims like you, we know auto accident law.
If you were injured in a car accident, we're happy to take a look at your case to see if we can help. Call our office any time at (716) 444-4444, or visit our website to fill out a contact form or chat with us directly.