After an auto accident, it'll help if you have a suitable game plan in working with your car insurance company claims adjuster to resolve your claim. A key component of your approach should include asking your insurance company representative how you should proceed.

Your company is required to let you know what forms or documents it needs to support your claim, if you ask. Fill out any claims forms very carefully. Have your insurance company deploy a claims adjuster to inspect and appraise damage before authorizing repairs or beginning to repair the damaged vehicle.

A claims adjuster verifies the losses and determines the amount you are entitled to claim under your policy. A claims adjuster works exclusively for a company or represents more than one company.

Insurance industry experts believe your insurer should let you know the following:

• If there is a time limit for filing claims and submitting bills, resolving claims disputes, or for submitting additional information.
• When you can expect to hear back from the company.
• If you need to get repair estimates for the damage.
• If you have coverage for a rental car.

Be sure to keep a paper trail. Save copies of all documents relating to the accident in case you need them to file a claim or help your insurance company defend you in case of legal action. Most auto insurance policies impose a duty to cooperate on the insured, so failure to preserve the necessary documents may impair your claim.

Allstate spokesman Bill Mellander urges consumers to be patient with "your adjuster. Rest assured that the insurance company will dispatch an adjuster to your home or accident scene as soon as possible. However, there are times that you'll probably need to be a little patient than at other times."

Mellander pointed out that claims adjusters can be in heavy demand when there has been "a large volume of claims arising from accidents resulting from storm damage." It may take a little extra time to get a claims adjuster to you, but it'll happen as soon as possible.

Mellander said that Allstate and other companies give policyholders choices. "Our customers can wait for a claims adjuster to come to them or, if their vehicles are safe to drive, they can bring the damaged vehicle to one of our company's drive-in claims and repair facilities. The customer can get the claim adjusted and have repairs done in that one location, or they can take that repair estimate to a body shop of their own choosing."

Your insurer can't require you to have repairs done at a particular shop, even if it has a relationship with the shop. On the other hand, your insurer can require you to obtain more than one estimate for cost of repairs, because it doesn't want to end up paying an inflated repair bill.

SAFECO spokesman Eric Trott indicates that it's great have all your ducks lined up in a row when it comes to accident information that should be collected. However, Trott explained "insurance companies of course will begin processing a claim without all the information. But if you have it right from the start, the claim can be handled much more efficiently and quickly."