A car accident is disorienting. The adrenaline, the noise, the strangers standing around it's easy to forget the things that actually matter for your claim. And what you do in the first hour can determine whether a claim is settled smoothly in two weeks, or dragged out for months with arguments over fault and damage.
This is the checklist we give every one of our motor clients in Cyprus. It's short, it's practical, and it's been refined over more than two decades of handling claims on their behalf. If you do nothing else after an accident, work through these seven steps in order.
What this article covers
Make sure everyone is safe
This comes first, before anything else before photographs, before paperwork, before you even think about insurance.
- Turn on hazard lights and move vehicles out of the traffic lane if they can be moved safely.
- If anyone is injured, call 112 (or 199 for police directly) immediately. Do not attempt to move an injured person unless they are in immediate danger.
- Set up a warning triangle (it's a legal requirement in Cyprus to carry one) at least 50 metres behind the vehicle on the road.
- Get yourself and any passengers to a safe position behind the barrier on a motorway, or on the pavement on a normal road. Never stand between vehicles.
Call the police always, unless it's truly minor
In Cyprus, the police must be called to any accident involving injury, dispute over fault, damage to third-party property, or a driver who refuses to cooperate. For minor, undisputed scrapes in a car park with both parties agreeing, it's technically optional but we still recommend calling.
Why? Because a police report is the single most valuable document in a disputed claim. It records:
- The time, location and conditions
- Each driver's account, recorded at the scene
- Vehicle positions and damage, verified by an independent observer
- Any injuries reported at the time
- Whether either driver was cited for an offence
Without a police report, you're relying on the other driver's honesty and insurers know that versions change once people have had time to think.
Photograph everything before vehicles move
If the vehicles can be moved safely and traffic allows, this should be done before you move them. The sequence matters. Here's what to photograph, in order:
- Wide shots from four angles showing both vehicles in position, with road markings, signs and landmarks visible
- Close-ups of the damage on both vehicles, from multiple angles
- The licence plates of both vehicles, clearly readable
- The other driver's licence and insurance documents photo both sides
- Road conditions any wet surface, debris, broken glass, skid marks
- The location context the intersection, the junction, the parking spot
- Any injuries visible on anyone present (bruises, cuts, swelling)
- The other driver's vehicle identification number (VIN) visible through the windscreen on the dashboard
Modern smartphones timestamp and geotag photographs automatically, which makes them far more credible evidence than written descriptions. Take more than you think you need.
Exchange the right information
You need more than a phone number. Write down, or photograph:
- Full name of the other driver
- Their phone number and email address
- Their full address
- Vehicle registration number
- Make, model and colour of their vehicle
- Their insurer's name and policy number
- Their driving licence number
- Whether they were the registered owner (if not, get the owner's details too)
If there are witnesses, get their names and contact numbers as well. Witnesses are invaluable if fault is disputed later and they tend to disappear once they've driven away.
Give the same information to the other driver. There's no reason not to it's mutual, and it's expected.
Watch what you say do not admit fault
This is the step where good people make expensive mistakes. Adrenaline makes us polite. Politeness can sound like an admission of fault and once said, it can be used against you.
Even a well-meant "sorry" at the roadside can be interpreted as acceptance of liability. Cypriot insurers take these statements seriously, and reversing them later is difficult.
Instead, say: "Let's exchange details and let the insurers determine fault" · "I'd rather not discuss what happened until I've spoken to my insurer" · "Are you alright? Let's get the police here."
This is not about being unkind. You can be a decent human being at an accident scene without accepting legal liability. Kindness and caution are not mutually exclusive.
Call us and let us notify the insurer
Once you're safe and details are exchanged, call our office on +357 PA SCH ALI. We handle claims notification on your behalf which is one less thing to worry about in a stressful moment.
What we do when you call:
- Log the claim immediately and confirm your cover
- Tell you exactly what the insurer needs for this type of claim
- Advise whether an assessor will attend, and when
- Contact the insurer directly, so you don't have to
- Follow up with you the same day to confirm the claim is registered
Call us within 48 hours at the latest. This is a requirement in almost every motor policy, and it's the difference between a smooth claim and an insurer pushing back on late notification.
If the accident happens outside office hours, call our 24/7 emergency line the number is on your policy schedule, or use the same office line and follow the prompts.
Get a medical assessment within 24 hours
This is the step people skip and it's the one that hurts them later.
Not all injuries show up immediately. Whiplash, soft tissue damage, concussion and internal bruising can take 24 to 72 hours to become apparent. By the time you feel them, you may have already signed a statement saying you were unharmed.
Get assessed by a doctor within 24 hours of the accident, even if you feel fine:
- Visit A&E at your nearest hospital, or your personal doctor
- Tell them you were in a car accident and describe any symptoms however minor
- Ask for a written medical report, even if it says no injury was found
- Keep the paperwork it will support a personal injury claim if symptoms emerge
A clean medical record taken at 24 hours is worth far more than a claim submitted at three weeks, when the insurer can argue the injury wasn't caused by the accident.
Save this first-hour checklist
- Make sure everyone is safe move to a secure position
- Call 112 for injuries, 199 for police
- Photograph everything before vehicles move
- Exchange name, phone, address, policy, licence, plate
- Do not admit fault exchange details, let insurers decide
- Call +357 PA SCH ALI within 48 hours
- Visit a doctor within 24 hours even if you feel fine
Things that damage your own claim
Beyond admitting fault, there are a handful of common mistakes that harm claims after the fact. Watch for these:
- Leaving the scene before police arrive a criminal offence in Cyprus
- Agreeing to a private cash settlement on the spot, without insurer involvement
- Accepting a repair quote from the other driver's preferred garage without our review
- Posting about the accident on social media insurers monitor public posts
- Delaying the medical assessment, or skipping it because "nothing hurts"
- Signing any insurer document you haven't read carefully, or don't understand
Have you been in an accident in the last 48 hours?
Call us immediately on +357 PA SCH ALI or submit the online claim form. We'll take the details, contact the insurer, and guide you through everything from here no stress, no chasing.
Report a ClaimWhy this checklist works
None of the seven steps is exotic. They're the standard actions any experienced claims handler would tell you to take but in the moment, they're easy to forget. Having a list, in order, makes the difference.
If you take one thing away from this article, let it be this: the first hour after an accident decides how the next three months go. Everything you do in those first sixty minutes safety, police, photographs, information, restraint, notification, medical check either smooths the path ahead or complicates it.
If you'd like a printed version of this checklist for your glovebox, we'll happily send you one. Just ask.
We handle hundreds of motor claims a year on behalf of clients across Cyprus. The ones that go smoothly are almost always the ones where the driver had a plan and followed it.
Written by
Maria HadjipanayiClaims Manager at Paschalı Insurance & Consultants. Handles insurer liaison, documentation and settlement follow-up on behalf of clients across Cyprus.
