When driving on the road, it’s inevitable to encounter various unexpected situations. Among them, having a car parked on the roadside and getting hit is not uncommon. When such an unfortunate event occurs, many car owners may panic and not know what to do. At this moment, a crucial question arises: Should you call the police first or the insurance company? It may seem like a simple choice, but getting the order wrong can really cause car owners to suffer significant losses. Many car owners have encountered continuous troubles in subsequent handling because they didn’t understand this issue.

Let’s first talk about the importance of calling the police. According to relevant traffic regulations, it is the responsibility and obligation of the parties involved to report the accident to the police promptly after a traffic accident occurs. The main purpose of calling the police is to allow traffic police to quickly arrive at the scene and investigate and handle the accident. The traffic police will draw a diagram of the accident scene, record key information such as the position of the vehicles, collision marks, and scattered debris, which are all important bases for determining accident responsibility.

In an actual case, a car owner named Xiao Li had his car parked in a roadside parking spot and was scratched by a passing truck. Xiao Li was so focused on contacting the insurance company for claims that he didn’t call the police promptly. When the insurance company’s personnel arrived at the scene, due to the lack of an accident determination by the traffic police, both parties had different opinions on the accident responsibility. The truck driver insisted that it was because Xiao Li parked his car improperly, while Xiao Li believed that the truck driver was negligent while driving. Ultimately, due to the lack of strong evidence, the claims process became extremely difficult, and Xiao Li had to spend a lot of time and energy coordinating, and he also bore some losses that he shouldn’t have.

Now let’s look at the role of calling the insurance company. Calling the insurance company is to initiate the insurance claims process, inform the insurance company about the accident situation, and arrange for an appraiser to assess the vehicle damage. Generally, after receiving the report, the insurance company will arrive at the scene within the prescribed time to take photos of the vehicle, assess the damage, and determine the compensation amount.