Chatham-Kent police are reminding motorists to hold on to the reference information they receive after a collision, saying it can make insurance claims and follow-up easier.
When an officer investigates a collision and creates a police incident, those involved may be given an incident number, the officer’s name and the officer’s badge number. Police say drivers should give the incident number to their insurance company when reporting the collision, because it connects the crash to the matching police occurrence. The insurance company will explain its claims process and any other documents it needs.
Drivers who later need to contact police about the collision should have the incident number ready to help identify the correct occurrence.
Many property damage collisions don’t require an officer to attend and can be reported through the Chatham-Kent Collision Reporting Centre. The centre lets drivers report eligible collisions, complete the required documentation and get a police report number for insurance purposes. Police say drivers who use it should also keep their report number and any documents provided.
Police are encouraging motorists to keep all collision-related information, including incident numbers, report numbers and documents from police, somewhere safe and accessible until the insurance and collision processes are finished.
More information on reporting requirements, and on whether a collision can be reported through the centre, is available at accsupport.com/locations/chatham-kent/.
