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After Crash Compass

Printable tool

A practical accident-paperwork checklist

Print this, put it on top of a single folder, and fill it in as the mail arrives. Nothing on this page is stored, uploaded or sent anywhere — it exists only on your paper and your screen.

Reviewed September 2026 · No account or personal information required

Prints as a clean black-and-white worksheet with writing space.

How to use it

After a crash, most confusion comes from documents arriving out of order from parties who never mention each other. The fix is unglamorous: one folder, one log, one timeline. When you can answer what arrived, from whom, on what date, almost every later conversation gets shorter — including the ones with your own insurer or attorney.

Keep originals. Write on copies. If you photograph documents with your phone, name the files by date so the order survives.

1. Correspondence log

One line per item of mail, email or voicemail. Keep the envelope — the postmark is sometimes the only date you have.

  • Date received, and date printed on the document
  • Who sent it: company or firm name, exactly as written
  • Return address and any phone number or web address given
  • What it appears to be: bill, letter about coverage, lien notice, advertisement, records request
  • Any reference, claim, account or file number printed on it
  • Whether it asks you to do something, and by when
  • Where the original is now filed

2. Insurance and claim references

Written once here, these save the repeated hunt through the glovebox.

  • Your own policy number and insurer's claims phone number
  • Your claim number with your own insurer
  • The other driver's insurer and your claim number with them, if any
  • Adjuster names, direct numbers and email addresses
  • Your health plan name, member ID and the plan's phone number
  • Whether you have MedPay, personal injury protection or uninsured-motorist coverage
  • Police or crash report number and the agency that wrote it
  • Repair shop, tow yard and rental-car references

3. Expenses and losses

Receipts fade. Write the number down the day you spend it.

  • Medical statements: provider, date of service, amount billed, amount paid, by whom
  • Prescription and medical-supply receipts
  • Deductibles and co-pays actually paid out of pocket
  • Towing, storage, rental car and rideshare costs
  • Repair invoices, or the total-loss valuation letter
  • Days of work missed, hours, and who can confirm them
  • Mileage to appointments, with dates

4. Treatment and timeline

A simple date list is more useful than memory, especially months later.

  • Date, time and location of the crash
  • Emergency room or urgent care visit dates and facility names
  • Every follow-up appointment: date, provider, reason
  • Imaging, physical therapy and specialist referrals
  • Symptoms and limitations, noted in your own words with dates
  • Names of anyone who witnessed the crash or its aftermath

5. Open questions

Carry this page into any call. Note who answered and when.

  • Which of my coverages pays this medical bill first?
  • Has any provider asserted a lien or reimbursement claim on my claim?
  • Is there a filing in the county records for this lien, and under what number?
  • What deadlines apply to my claim in my state?
  • What am I required to send, and what am I only being asked to send?
  • Who is my single point of contact for this claim?

6. Notes

Date, who you spoke with, what they said, what they promised to send.

What not to put in this folder

  • Anything you would not want a stranger to read — the folder travels to appointments and offices.
  • Passwords, or your full Social Security number written on a cover page. Providers and insurers already hold what they need.
  • Unopened mail. Open it, log it, then decide whether it needs a response at all.

Sources used on this page