One of the best ways to explore and discover a new place when you’re traveling is by renting a car. Having the freedom to drive your own vehicle means you can cover much more ground, whether you’re on vacation or a business trip.

But that’s not to say that car rentals are something you should enter into without preparation or concerns for safety. Driving abroad is a different experience — with different rules of the roads, languages, signage, and driver behaviors. And of course, unfortunately, car accidents do happen. For that reason, you should know what to do in the event of having a car accident in a rental car.

Of course, the best preparation for rental car accidents happens before you ever rent a car: taking out a rental car insurance policy. Research the best options for rental car coverage — don’t assume the car rental company will necessarily give you the most comprehensive or competitive insurance options. You should always check if your travel insurance policy includes rental car coverage.

Once you’ve decided how you’ll be covered, familiarize yourself with the policy documents, coverage limits, and exclusions so you know what the expectations are should you need to make a claim. As is always the case with travel, a little preparation and research can potentially save you a lot of hassle if you run into an unforeseen incident.

The best advice? Don’t wait until you’re at the rental car counter to think about car rental insurance.

The first steps after a rental car accident

You might think that if you get into an auto accident when driving a rental car in another country, the steps you need to take are the same as you would take if you got into a car accident when driving your own car at home in the United States.

In the first instance, that may be true:

• Make sure everyone involved in the accident is safe
• Call emergency services if medical attention is needed
• Move the car and/or passengers to a safer location, if possible away from oncoming traffic

However, beyond these initial steps, some additional actions are necessary when you get into an accident while driving a rental car. This is to ensure you will be able to make a successful claim on your car rental coverage.

First, you’ll want to call the police right away in order to get a police or accident report. This is so you have the details of the accident recorded by an official source. Don’t forget to get the police officer’s details — name, badge number, and jurisdiction — as you may need these later on. The police can also be helpful if the other driver or parties involved are hostile or angry about the accident. Try to stay calm, and be empathetic without ascribing blame or admitting fault for the accident.

Exchange contact information

Once you’ve called for help, you’ll want to gather more information. Exchange contact details with the other driver involved in the accident, including insurance information, their full name and contact details, and car registration and license details. This can be difficult if there is a language barrier involved, which is why local police presence may be helpful.

In addition, take photographs of the damage to both vehicles, the location where the accident happened, and any other damage to the surrounding area that may have been caused by the accident. If it was an accident involving multiple parties, gather the same contact information from everyone that was involved.

Contact your rental car company and insurance provider

Once you’ve gotten past the shock of the initial accident and you’ve gathered all the necessary information from everyone involved, you’ll want to move on to notifying others.

First, you need to call your rental car company. Most car rental companies will provide you with an emergency telephone number for such scenarios. Tell them the specifics of the accident, and describe the condition the car is in. They will let you know whether they’d like you to drive the vehicle to an agreed location or, if it’s not drivable, call roadside assistance to help return the vehicle. As with all your interactions during this process, note down the name and position of the rental car company employee you speak to, as well as the time you speak to them.

Remember, the car is still your responsibility during the car rental period, so you need to ensure its safe return. Most rental car companies will also want you to fill out an accident report, which will be similar to a police report. So make sure you dutifully save all those details in case you need them again.

Next, you need to reach out to your travel insurance provider. As is normally the case with an insurance company, notifying them as soon as possible after a possible claim is wise. Some insurance companies can try to deny you a claim if you file it too long after the incident, which you definitely don’t want to happen.

Find out who pays after your rental car accident

Keep in mind that not all insurance coverage is the same when it comes to rental cars. If you don’t take out adequate insurance before the fact, you may find yourself in a mess with large bills to settle after a rental car accident.

If you took out coverage with the rental car company, it’s likely that your collision damage waiver will cover the accident, provided you didn’t violate the rental agreement and reckless driving did not play a role in causing the accident. However, if the accident caused medical expenses to be incurred or damage to other people’s property, then collision coverage will not cover this.

Some people assume that their own insurance company will extend coverage to a rental car, as is sometimes the case when traveling within the U.S. When renting a car overseas, it’s not usually the case that your own car insurance policy will extend to rental car coverage — so you shouldn’t rely on that. Some credit card companies offer rental car coverage, but you should check before renting a vehicle.

If you’ve taken out travel insurance from a third party insurance provider, you may be able to add rental vehicle damage cover to an existing travel insurance policy, but not all travel insurance plans offer rental vehicle damage as an option. You can customize travel insurance policies from battleface to add rental vehicle damage coverage, which provides primary reimbursement for damage to a rental vehicle during your trip, up to $35,000 per rented vehicle, with the primary $250 deductible for a loss greater than $2,000.