A Simple Guide from Flexed
It’s a sad fact to think about but accidents do happen, so what should our customers do if they’re unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident in their lease car and who do they need to get in touch with?
It’s not a pleasant experience for anyone being involved in a car accident but if it happens whilst driving a car that doesn’t belong to you, the stress of it all could be much greater.
A simple guide from Flexed about what to do and who to contact in the event of an accident in your lease car. © Copyright Nigel Mykura and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
When you lease a car from Flexed you never own the vehicle you choose, so therefore it’s the finance provider who remains the registered owner and keeper of the vehicle for however long you drive the car for and hold onto the V5C log book related to the vehicle.
Taking into account how stressful being involved in an accident can be and mixed with the fact that the car you are driving is not your’s, we wanted to reassure our customers that if such an unfortunate incident was to happen, the procedure at Flexed is relatively straightforward, so there’s no need to worry..
Contact The Police
Following an accident involving yourself and another vehicle, you must stop at the scene where it happened – failing to stop is an offence and could lead to punishment.
If you can get out of your lease car, check the other vehicle/s and all passengers, then call the police and any other emergency services that might be needed.
If the accident is just a minor bump and there’s no need for the police to be called to the scene, you must still report the incident at your local police station within 24 hours where you’ll be given an incident reference number.
Swapping Details
Once you’ve confirmed that all parties involved are okay, you need to swap details with each other. Both parties must legally provide their name and address following a road accident. Other details should also be shared about your vehicle’s including the make, model and registration number, as well as insurance details. Exchanging telephone numbers is also a good idea.
Further Information That May Help
If possible, further information gathered at the scene could help, such as what time it happened, what the weather conditions were like and how the vehicles are positioned on the road. Taking photos with a camera on your phone might help insurance companies decide who’s to blame.
Contact Your Insurance Provider
You need to inform you insurance provider within 24 hours of the incident occurring. Some insurance companies have a clause that states a specific timeframe for informing them of an accident and not doing so could invalidate your policy.
The details you gathered at the scene relating to the other driver and their vehicle will be asked for by your insurance provider, as well as a detailed account of what actually happened.
Inform Us
You must get in touch with Flexed and your finance provider to let them know that you’ve been involved in an accident in your lease car.
What happens next all depends on the decision/s made by your insurance provider and/or the other party involved as to who’s at fault.
Here at Flexed, we’ll do everything we can to help in the event of an accident occurring in your lease car and deal with it the best way possible.
GAP Insurance?
With a standard insurance policy, if your lease car is written-off, they will payout for the value of the car but this may not be enough to cover the remaining finance on your lease and could leave a shortfall that must be paid by yourself.
If you’ve taken out GAP Insurance, this will cover the remaining difference – ‘gap’ – between how much your insurance provider has offered against your lease car and what finance is still outstanding on your lease contract.
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Drop us a quick email to talk@flexed.co.uk or chat with a member of our team NOW using our online ‘We Are Here!’ service – we’ll gladly answer any leasing questions you may have.