Written By: Bob Conner, President

An insurance loss is an emotional and upsetting event.

Thinking clearly and rationally seconds after an auto accident or discovering your home’s been burglarized is just not part of our DNA.

How can we help our clients avoid confusion when there’s a crisis?

One surefire way can be both preventative and reactive.  Take pictures!

Utilize Your Cell Phone

Nearly everyone carries not only a cellphone, but a highly sophisticated camera. One rainy Saturday afternoon, talk a walk around your home or small business.

Video each room while providing a narrative of its contents. Take individual pictures of items of significant value or uniqueness.

You should take pictures of receipts for jewelry, bikes, artwork or any item of high value.  Store it online or on your PC.

You now have an invaluable visual library documenting your property.  If you suffer a serious theft or fire, it’ll be so much easier to settle the claim.

Also, be sure to avoid these common mistakes.

What to do Following an Auto Accident

The same holds true of an auto accident.  You should call 911!

However, taking pictures of the damage, your car’s location in the intersection, identification of the other involved vehicles and copies of insurance ID cards and driver information is so much easier when you report the loss.

Naturally, this assumes the accident resulted in no injury to you or your passengers.

If the incident happens in a parking lot or private property where no police respond, visual evidence of damage (to your car) or no damage (to the other party’s vehicle) can be valuable evidence.

Too often there’s a “he said / she said” situation 24 hours after a fender bender that changes agreements made at the scene.  Visual documentation is so helpful.

I had one experience where the car in front of me backed into me… and then claimed I hit her in the rear!

I took close-up photos of her rear bumper and my front bumper showing zero damage along with recording “my version” on a picture video.  She never pursued it further!

Have No Fear, Mints is Here

We are here to help!

Taking advantage of new technology along with “old school” person-to-person contact can help make a bad experience better.

Reach out to us today to learn more about our insurance services.