An insurance claim: the evidence gathered at the scene, not afterwards

A settlement is decided not at the moment of the collision but weeks later — and it is decided by documents. Those documents are built from what you recorded in the first fifteen minutes, when thinking about it is hardest.

Safety first

Before any photography:

1. Hazard lights.
2. Check whether anyone is injured — the first priority.
3. Place the warning triangle at the required distance.
4. Vests on everybody who gets out.

The procedure on a fast road is covered in its own article.

What to record

Wide shots — both cars in place, showing the road, markings, and signs. Several frames from different points so the relative positions are clear.

Do not move the vehicles before recording, unless they critically obstruct traffic. If they had to be moved, photograph first.

Damage close up — on both cars, including damage that pre-existed.

Registration plates of both vehicles.

Skid marks, debris, spilled fluids — they show the dynamics.

Road conditions: signs, markings, traffic lights, surface, lighting.

The other party’s documents — photograph licence, registration, and insurance.

Your odometer and cluster.

A continuous video walk-round of the whole scene — it saves you later, when the details have blurred.

Witnesses

Contact details are the most valuable thing available at the scene and the fastest to disappear.

People leave within minutes. Ask for a phone number immediately, not after the paperwork.

The dash cam

Save the file at once — most devices record in a loop and overwrite within hours.

Remove the card or press the file-protect button.

Do not hand it to anyone “to look at” with the ability to delete.

Correct installation is covered in the dash cam article.

What the vehicle’s own data adds

Sometimes the decisive argument lives here.

The event data recorder logs parameters around an airbag deployment: speed, pedals, belts, steering angle in the seconds before impact. That is not arguable; covered in the EDR article.

System codes — airbags, ABS, stability control. They show what triggered and in what order.

Freeze frames — conditions at the moment of the fault.

A practical tip: do not clear the codes after a collision. That is literally destroying evidence in your own case; covered in the clearing codes article.

Common mistakes

Settling at the scene without paperwork — and receiving a claim for a different sum later.

Admitting fault verbally before the circumstances are established.

Moving the cars before photographing.

Not photographing the other car’s damage — their pre-existing damage joins your bill.

Clearing codes “so the lamp goes out”.

Not saving the dash cam file — and losing it within hours.

In short

• The settlement is decided by what was recorded in the first fifteen minutes.
• Wide shots before the cars move matter more than close-ups.
• Witness contacts vanish faster than anything else.
• Save the dash cam file immediately — it records in a loop.
• Do not clear codes after a collision: that destroys evidence.

Download the app — safety system codes and freeze frames are read with an ELM327 adapter over Bluetooth SPP on Android.