“It stayed on my insurance record.”
A Florida woman is going viral on TikTok after sharing something she says most people don’t know to do after a car accident.
User @incasethemayanswe posted a PSA last month, clearly stating the warning in the text overlay of her clip.
“DO NOT CALL YOUR CAR INSURANCE COMPANY IF THE ACCIDENT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!!!” she wrote. She admits she only learned this herself recently.
“I’m 31, and I just found this out,” @incasethemayanswe says.
She explains that if you’re in a car accident and it’s not your fault, you don’t need to contact your own insurance to file a claim. “I repeat, do not call your insurance company to file a claim if it’s the other person’s fault they hit you,” @incasethemayanswe says. “You need to call their insurance and file a claim.”
She says she learned the hard way, calling her own insurer after an accident that wasn’t her fault, which caused her monthly insurance costs to skyrocket. “I got paid for it, yeah, but guess what happened to my insurance? [It] skyrocketed and it stayed on my insurance record,” @incasethemayanswe shares.
More recently, she was involved in another accident. This time, she called her insurance first to ask what to do. A worker told her to contact the other person’s insurer and file a claim, which she did.
“That’s what I did,” @incasethemayanswe says.
In the end, she got paid, and her insurance didn’t go up. As of Monday, her PSA video had racked up more than 1.6 million views.
In states like Texas, if someone else causes an accident, you can certainly call their insurance to file a claim. Gather all the information you can, like the other driver’s name, insurance company, policy number, and license plate number. Photos, witnesses’ names and contact information, and an accident or police report are also good things to have on hand.
Legal experts across the nation agree that it’s often smarter first to alert your own insurer so you can better manage communication.
After all, the other company is looking out for its driver’s best interests, not yours. In some states, such as Florida, you aren’t legally required to speak with the other driver’s insurance company, but if you do, give only basic details, avoid recorded statements, and don’t discuss fault. Having your own insurance—or a lawyer—handle it can protect your claim, especially if fault later gets disputed.
From there, affected drivers have options. You can file a claim through your own insurance if you have the right types of coverage. And your insurer might start the repair or payment and then recover the costs from the at-fault driver’s insurer.
Of course, if the other driver is cooperative and clearly at fault (an admission you might want to get in writing), you can file directly with their insurance. Still, proceed cautiously.
Viewers who watched @incasethemayanswe’s clip appreciated her advice, but some noted from experience that calling your own insurance after an accident is often a step you can’t skip.
“I called my insurance because she didn’t provide insurance on the scene,” one woman shared. “They investigated and found her insurance, in which I was able to start a claim that way. My insurance did not go up at all. Sometimes, you NEED to call your insurance.”
“This is not true lol…coming from a paralegal,” another added. “You absolutely need to alert your insurance agency just for purposes of a report.”
A third viewer weighed in on the process, saying, “It’s still fine to call your insurance company. They’ll mark it as not your fault and dispute it with the other company. The issue is more if your insurance company doesn’t do that.”
“Yeah—no, I will call my insurance company,” a fourth person commented. “They covered my damages, and THEY went after the other insurance company for reimbursement. My insurance did not go up.”
Even so, some viewers said @incasethemayanswe’s PSA was helpful because many people didn’t know you could contact the at-fault driver’s insurer instead of your own.
“NOBODY told me,” one woman admitted. “I been calling MY insurance.”
“As a new driver, I didn’t know this,” another added. “Thank you for the information.”
“As an insurance agent… THANK YOU,” said a third.
Motor1 has reached out to @incasethemayanswe via a direct message on TikTok. We’ll update this if she responds.
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