What to do After a Collision

If you’ve had a collision:

  • Check for injuries. When in doubt, call for an ambulance. Otherwise, move uninjured passengers safely away from traffic.
  • If possible, move your vehicle out of traffic without actually leaving the scene, and turn on your hazard lights. Use cones, triangles or flares if available.
  • Call the police to the scene, even if the accident is minor.
  • Take notes. Exchange insurance information and write down license plates, passenger names, names and phone numbers of witnesses – anything you can do to document the accident.
  • Take photos. If it’s safe, take photos of the vehicles involved and the scene of the accident.
  • If your vehicle needs to be towed, we recommend Hochstetler’s at (319) 364-1097 or Darrah’s at (319) 363-7900, both in Cedar Rapids. Ask them to tow it to our facility and we will pay the tow bill when it arrives.
  • If you work with an insurance agent, call them when you’re ready. If you do not feel the accident is your fault, it’s generally recommended that you wait to hear from the other party’s insurance company unless you think they’re going to be problematic – there’s little point in immediately filing a claim to your insurance unless you feel you are at fault or the other party is uninsured.
  • When you’re ready, contact Waln Collision and let us help you from here. We can answer some basic questions about your claim and help you make the next steps toward getting your car repaired.

If you’ve encountered hail or storm damage:

Most insurance companies prefer to send an internal adjuster out to evaluate hail/storm damaged vehicles. Please feel free to call us to discuss, otherwise contact your agent or company right away to begin the claim process.

If you’ve been vandalized

  • File a police report as soon as you notice the vandalism.
  • Be careful of any broken glass. Your insurance company will general pay our facility or the glass installers to clean up the broken glass, so only do this yourself if you feel it’s necessary or if it prevents you from driving the vehicle. Many insurers will also pay for the vehicle to be towed if the broken glass renders it unsafe to drive. If you are going to clean up any of the glass yourself, be sure to photo document it prior to removing it.
  • Many insurance companies prefer to send an internal adjuster out to evaluate vandalism, so do contact them to find out their preference and begin the claim process.
  • Please feel free to call us to discuss your damages, and we will assist you in any way we can.

Insurance

The first thing to remember is that you may choose any collision repair shop you like, regardless of your insurance providers’ recommendations.

Waln Repair and Collision works with all insurance companies to help speed up the insurance adjustment process and will communicate with your provider until your repairs are complete.

More Information