When the Claim First Arrived
A Small Accident in İskele That Could Have Become a Serious Mechanical Risk
The phone rang at 08:11.
“Just a small scrape,” the driver said.
“Only a scratch on the bumper.”
It is a familiar sentence in motor insurance claims.
And most of the time, it is true.
But not always.
At CAN Sigorta, vehicle damage claims are not assessed only by what is visible.
They are read from the first moment, with a field perspective.
When the first photo arrived
The photo came through WhatsApp.
A scratch on the corner of the front bumper.
A slight opening in the plastic.
The weather was clear.
The vehicle was still driveable.
At first glance, the claim looked straightforward.
But in one corner of the photo, there was a detail that was easy to miss.
The position of the front wheel.
“That position isn’t normal”
In vehicle damage claims, small differences give big signals.
Bumpers can scratch.
Plastic can flex.
But wheel alignment does not lie.
We looked at the photo again.
The angle was not normal.
At that moment, the claim stopped being “minor”.
Not financially yet, but mechanically.
The first on-site decision: the vehicle was stopped
As soon as the abnormal wheel position was identified, a decision was made.
This vehicle should not continue moving.
CAN Sigorta immediately activated roadside assistance and towing services,
and the vehicle was prevented from being driven further.
It was not allowed to “drive carefully”.
It was not left to chance.
The vehicle was taken to the service by tow truck.
The objective was clear:
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Prevent further mechanical damage
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Avoid safety risks for the driver
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Keep the claim clean and uncontested
Because of this intervention:
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The mechanical damage did not escalate
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Suspension and tyres avoided secondary damage
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The loss remained clearly linked to the original accident
This was not a desk decision.
It was a field-based reflex.
What was visible on-site but not in the photo
Once the vehicle was inspected at the service, the picture became clear.
The low-speed impact had transferred load
to a component connected to the front wheel.
The steering rod had been affected.
There was play in the suspension arm connection.
These issues:
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Do not show clearly in photos
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Do not appear on first glance
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But directly affect driving safety
That is why vehicle damage is not read on paper.
It is read on the lift.
“What if the vehicle had kept driving?”
This question is usually asked too late.
In this case, it was asked early.
If the vehicle had continued to be used:
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Tyres would have worn unevenly
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Steering precision would have deteriorated
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The vehicle could have become unstable under braking
The damage might not have looked bigger.
But it would have become dangerous.
Why small vehicle damage often grows
Because in modern vehicles:
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Plastic signals damage before metal
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Visible parts protect what you cannot see
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Damage spreads through load, not impact
That is exactly what happened here.
The initial estimated cost was low.
But once the mechanical reading changed, the direction of the claim changed with it.
The most common mistake in vehicle damage claims
“There’s nothing serious, it can be driven.”
This assumption:
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Minimises visible damage
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But multiplies risk
From an insurance perspective, the problem is simple:
If additional damage occurs later, linking it to the original accident becomes difficult.
That is why the first assessment matters.
Why CAN Sigorta shares this case
Because the most expensive vehicle claims are not the biggest crashes.
They are the ones that are noticed too late.
When a claim is read correctly at the start:
Why the first minute matters
Because it is not what the damage is,
but what it can become, that is understood in the first minute.
This claim reached CAN Sigorta at 08:11.
That moment determined not only how the vehicle would be repaired,
but how it would remain safe on the road.