After a car accident in Massachusetts, stop and move to safety. Call 911 if anyone is injured. A crash involving injury, death, or over $1,000 in property damage requires reporting and may require police involvement. Exchange information, take photos, then call your agent. For injury benefits, your own insurer generally pays Personal Injury Protection (PIP) first, regardless of fault.
A fender bender on Route 28 or a real crash on I-93, the first few minutes feel the same. Your heart’s pounding and it’s easy to blank on what you’re supposed to do. We’ve walked a lot of clients through this over the years, and the steps that protect you aren’t complicated. They’re just hard to remember when you’re rattled. Here’s the order we tell people to follow, including the step that gets skipped most often, which is calling your agent.
1. Stop and Get Out of the Road
Massachusetts law requires you to stop at the scene, even for a minor fender bender. If your car still runs, pull onto the shoulder or into a lot so you’re not sitting in traffic. Before you move anyone, check for neck or back pain. If someone’s hurt that way, leave them still and wait for help. A second crash because two cars are stopped in a travel lane happens more than you’d think.
2. Call 911
Call 911 if anyone is injured. In Massachusetts, a crash that involves injury, death, or more than $1,000 in property damage requires reporting and may require police involvement depending on the circumstances. That damage threshold is low, and it’s hard to eyeball damage in the moment, so call the police even when it looks small. While you wait, note anything useful. Who’s hurt, which way the cars were headed, what the road conditions were.
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3. Check for Injuries and Get Medical Attention
People skip the doctor because they feel fine or they’re worried about the cost. That’s a mistake. Adrenaline masks a lot, and concussions, whiplash, and back injuries often don’t show up until the next day. Get checked. If you can’t get to a doctor right away, at least take photos of any visible injuries. Waiting also makes it harder to connect an injury to the crash later, which matters when your claim gets processed.
4. Exchange Information
You don’t need to hash out whose fault it was at the scene. Skip that conversation. You do need to swap the basics with the other driver:
- Name and contact info
- Driver’s license number
- License plate number
- Insurance company and policy number
Every driver in Massachusetts is required to carry car insurance, so the other party should have this ready. If they don’t, write that down. That’s exactly the situation your uninsured motorist coverage is built for, which is the part of your own policy that steps in when the other driver has none.
5. Cooperate With the Police
A crash scene gets tense fast, and people react to stress in different ways. Be straight with the officers and answer their questions, but don’t argue with the other driver or start assigning blame. The police report becomes a key document for your claim, and what you say gets recorded. Ask the officer how to get a copy. You’ll want it.
6. Take Photos
Once the scene clears, the evidence is gone. Use your phone. Get the position of both cars, the damage on every side, the intersection or stretch of road, skid marks, the weather, any debris. More is better. When your adjuster reviews the claim, those photos do a lot of the talking for you.
7. Call Your Insurance Agent
Here’s the step that gets buried, and it shouldn’t. Call your insurance agent the same day, ideally before you even leave the scene. The sooner your agent knows, the sooner they can open the claim and walk you through what’s covered and what happens next. A quick rundown of what happened is enough to get started.
This is also where working with an independent agent pays off. When you call our office in Stoneham, you get a person who knows your policy and can deal with the carrier on your behalf, instead of a 1-800 number and a different rep every time you call back. If your car isn’t drivable and gets towed from the scene, we help you sort out the rental and the body shop once the claim’s open.
How a Massachusetts Car Insurance Claim Actually Works
Massachusetts is a no-fault state. That doesn’t mean nobody’s at fault. It means that for the first round of medical bills, you file with your own insurance company no matter who caused the crash. That coverage is called PIP, short for personal injury protection, and it’s built into every Massachusetts auto policy.
You can step outside the no-fault system and pursue the other driver directly only when statutory thresholds are met, like a serious injury or medical costs crossing a set amount. Many routine injury claims are resolved through the no-fault/PIP system, although some do proceed against the at-fault driver when those thresholds are met. Either way, much of the process runs through your own policy, which is exactly why the limits you picked when you bought the policy matter so much.
As John puts it:
“The biggest mistake we see, on home and auto, is people buying the minimum coverage to save 20 dollars a week. Then a claim happens, they become legally responsible for somebody else’s vehicle or someone gets hurt, and there’s not enough coverage to make it right. They saved a little upfront and it cost them a lot when it mattered.” — John LoPriore
That’s the part people don’t think about until they’re in it. The minutes after a crash are about safety and documentation. Whether the claim actually makes you whole comes down to choices you made months earlier, when you set up the policy.
Don’t Forget the RMV Crash Report
Massachusetts has one more requirement people miss. Under state law (Chapter 90, Section 26), if your accident involved injury, death, or property damage over $1,000, you have to file a Motor Vehicle Crash Operator Report with the Registry of Motor Vehicles within 5 days. The police report doesn’t replace it. You file the RMV form yourself, send a copy to the local police department, and there’s no fee to do it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I call my insurance company even if the accident wasn’t my fault?
Yes. Massachusetts is a no-fault state, so your first medical claim goes through your own insurer regardless of who caused the crash. Calling your agent right away gets the claim moving and protects you if the other driver’s story changes later.
Do I have to report a crash if no one seems hurt and the damage looks minor?
Report it anyway. Injuries can take a day or two to show up, and damage often costs more than it looks once a shop pulls the panel off. If the total tops $1,000 or anyone’s injured, reporting is required by law.
Should I file a claim for a small dent?
It depends on your deductible, which is the amount you pay out of pocket before coverage kicks in. If you hit another car or someone could be hurt, file. If you backed into your own mailbox and the repair costs less than your deductible, paying out of pocket may make more sense than a claim. Your agent can help you run the math.
Where do I get the Massachusetts crash report form?
You can download it from Mass.gov or pick it up from any police department. Send completed copies to your insurance agent, the local police, and the RMV.
How long will it take to get paid on my claim?
There’s no fixed deadline, but insurers are required to handle claims promptly and fairly. Some uncomplicated claims may be resolved within weeks, but timelines vary substantially depending on liability disputes, injuries, vehicle damage, and insurer investigations.
Key Takeaways
- Stop and get to safety first – Massachusetts law requires you to stop, and getting out of traffic prevents a second crash.
- Call 911 for any injury or damage over $1,000 – the threshold is low, so call even when it looks minor.
- Document everything at the scene – photos and the police report do the heavy lifting when your claim is reviewed.
- Call your agent the same day – fast reporting opens the claim sooner, and an independent agent deals with the carrier for you.
- Your policy limits decide the outcome – in a no-fault state, much of the process runs through your own coverage, so the limits you chose matter.
Want to make sure your auto policy would actually hold up if you ever needed it? Send us your current declarations page and we’ll shop it across the carriers we work with. No pressure, no commitment. If your coverage is already the right fit, we’ll tell you that too.
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*Please note that you can submit claims only if you hold existing insurance policies with LoPriore Insurance*
