Incident report template

What to capture in the minutes after a crash or theft — the details every insurer, and every police report, will ask for.

Download .md

The basics (fill in immediately)

  • Date and time of the incident
  • Exact location — address or GPS pin, direction of travel
  • Weather and light conditions
  • What happened, in 3–5 factual sentences (no speculation, no fault statements)

People

  • Other parties: names, phone numbers, insurance details if a vehicle was involved
  • Witnesses: names and phone numbers — ask before they walk away
  • Police: responding officer's name, badge number, and the report number
  • Injuries: yours and others', even minor ones (they matter later)

Evidence

  • Photos: the scene from four directions, the bike, any vehicle, skid marks, signage
  • Your bike's damage, close up, before moving anything you don't have to
  • Torn clothing / broken helmet — photograph, don't discard
  • For theft: photo of where the bike was, how it was locked, remains of the lock

Within 24 hours

  • File the police report (required for any theft claim)
  • Notify your insurer — most policies have prompt-notification clauses
  • Get a repair estimate from a bike shop (carbon: request an inspection)
  • Write down anything else you remember; memory degrades fast

From the insuremy.bike Learning Center — free to share. insuremy.bike/resources/