English

You were involved in an accident.  Now what?

In Holland, normally you report the damage to your own insurance company even if the other party is responsible. In this case, there are two possibilities:

  1. In the case that you have a full coverage insurance plan, your insurer will cover the costs of the damage and will ask the other party to reimburse them.
  2. In the case that you only have liability coverage, you must contact the other party and ask them to cover the damage.

Generally, this is a long laborious process where you must contact the other party yourself and file a claim for the damage. In addition, it isn’t always clear who has to contact who, who is responsible for certain tasks, or what your rights are. In addition, what happens if the other party claims that you were responsible for the accident? In these cases, you can contact SchadeDesk for no cost.  We don’t charge because we will charge the other party for all costs incurred during the process. SchadeDesk will contact the other party, will discuss liability for the accident with the other party on your behalf and will hire a surveyor who will complete a damage assessment if it is necessary.

 

Foreign  Incidents/Incidents involving foreign drivers

For traffic accidents that occur outside of Holland and/or involving foreign vehicles, you can also access SchadeDesk’s services. In these cases, it is more complicated due to the differences in procedures and traffic laws in the country where the accident occurred. The time to resolve the matter in these cases is much longer due to these same differences in laws and procedures. Naturally we try to collect the money for the damages from the other party, but unfortunately, these costs are not paid in many other countries and this includes our handling fee. In these cases, we deduct our handling fee from the compensation received for the damage. 

 

 Guarantee Fund (Waarborgfonds)

In some cases, the cost for the damage that your vehicle suffers can be reimbursed by a Guarantee Fund. To be eligible for this option, you must meet the following requirements:

  1. The responsible party left the scene and his/her identity cannot be determined.*
  2. The motor vehicle that caused the accident was not insured.
  3. The motor vehicle that caused the damage was stolen and the driver was aware.
  4. The motor vehicle that caused the damage was insured by an insurer that is now bankrupt.
  5. The person responsible for the damage does not have insurance because it is against his or her principles and the matter cannot be resolved.

    (*) In the case that the responsible party is unknown, a police report must be filed within the first 14 days and you must provide a statement from witnesses. In these cases, the Guarantee Fund will deduct an amount of 250 euros from the compensation (eigen risico).   

 

Witness statements

The Guarantee Fund only accepts witness statements that have been written and signed by said witnesses using the witness form from the Guarantee Fund.  Witness statements that don’t meet this requirement will not be taken into consideration.

 

Parking lot damages

One of the most common types of damage occurs in parking lots where the responsible party is unknown.  In these situations, it is very important that a police report is filed within the first 14 days following the incident and that you can provide a witness statement using the Guarantee Fund form. In these cases, the witness must declare that:

  1. the vehicle was parked without damage
  2. the vehicle was found damaged
  3. in the interim, the vehicle was not driven

 

How to contact us

For more information you can contact us with no obligation.
T  0168 - 851.438
E  info@schadedesk.com
F  contactform