Your Guide To Accident Insurance Claim
Reader’s Question:
I have a friend who was involved in a serious accident months ago. Good thing, she’s ok now. I’m just wondering though, since I’ve never been involved in any accident, I don’t have any idea on how to file for an accident insurance claim most especially if it’s a serious accident. Can you help me with that?
Paige
Atlanta, GA
It’s nice to hear that your friend is doing great Paige. As to your question, here are the things you need to do when filing for accident insurance claims:
- First, you must know what is included on your auto insurance policy before any accident happens. If it would help you more, contact your auto insurance agent so he or she could explain everything to you.
- If you need to rent a car because of the accident and you have rental car insurance coverage then make sure you’re getting the best rental car.
- Check with the Georgia Department of Insurance to know your rights as driver with auto insurance policy.
- Know the worth of your vehicle before the accident happened.
- Reach an agreement regarding the evaluation of the damage on your car. Remember, this must be a fair evaluation.
- Decide whether you still want your car or you want it to be replaced.
- Lastly, move on, whether you want your car to be repaired or replaced still depends on you. If your car is determined to be total then it would be better to find for a replacement car the soonest possible time. Just remember, settlement for totaled cars should include taxes, license fee and title for the replacement.
For more information about accident insurance claims, you can also ask your car insurance agent. I just hope you’ll never be involved in any accident. Always drive safely!
Accident Insurance Company
Reader’s Question:
Is it okay not to report to my accident insurance company an accident in which a suspended licensed driver drove my car and the incident was not his fault? Will the at-fault driver’s insurance company cover the damages to my car even if the driver’s license was suspended?
Tina
Chicago IL
First of all, a driver whose license was suspended is not allowed to be driving a car and could be facing some serious problem if he/she was found by the authorities driving without license especially if they were at-fault. However, in your case, you may not be obliged to tell your insurance company about the minor accident but it is wiser to let you report the incident that your car was involved in.
The at-fault driver’s accident insurance company should cover all the damages to your vehicle even if the driver’s license of the other party was suspended. Try to collaborate and contact their insurance company to find out how much they will cover for the damages. The driver of your car, with a suspended license, would have faced some serious penalties once the police were called out to the scene and reported him for driving without a license.
Accident Health Insurance Cancellation
Reader’s Question:
Does the insurance company have the right to cancel my car insurance and accident health insurance policy and take my car if it is totaled?
Mark
Honolulu Hawaii
Generally, whatever is stated or specified in your insurance policy, an insurance does not possess any rights whatsoever unless stated otherwise by your state’s insurance regulatory entity. The laws and procedures regarding accidents such as accident health insurance and car insurance accidents differs from state and insurance companies.
If they declare a total loss on your car then the company will decide if the insurance reimbursement will be for the total loss or just for the repairs only. You are left with two options, to let them pay for the total loss and they will confiscate the car or you can take the money they will offer and pay for the repair yourself, but if they total the car, this option is not available. However, you may negotiate for a price with the company but it should be less than the totaled car.
The insurance company cannot cancel your policy simply because your car is totaled. But if you have made multiple claims and has had numerous accident histories, the company has the right to evaluate and cancel a policy. They can also do this in the event where your car is no longer insured.
There are also laws that protect policyholders that will protect them from unfair cancellation of policy in which case they may have to option to offer you to renew your insurance.
Accident Health Insurance
Reader’s Question:
Does an auto insurance policy also pay for your medical bills aside from my accident health insurance?
Brandon
Salt Lake City, UT
Your accident health insurance, in the event of an accident will pay for medical coverage up to a limited amount only depending on your policy. Most state laws do not require coverage of personal injury so medical coverage is normally not included unless requested by the consumer. The amount that a company will cover for medical bills is only $5,000 for which some may find this not enough.
In the US, you you probably belong to either the “No Fault States”, in which they make it compulsory for drivers to be insured with no fault insurance which will provide security against accidents; it also includes personal medical bills. The second is the “Tort States”; these are the states that require drivers to carry the liability auto insurance to third party drivers related to vehicle accidents.
Among these cases however, you should also take time to discuss if the insurance policy does cover your medical bills aside from your accident health insurance. Always double check with your insurance company the extent of the coverage.
Car Accident Insurance
Reader’s Question:
What should I do if my car accident insurance expired a day before the accident took place?
Blaine
Washington, DC
What you need to do is to confirm to your insurance agent the expiration date of your insurance. If indeed it has expired before the accident occurred, you should try to work on getting reinstated immediately so that you are insured while you continue to drive or refrain from driving until you are insured. If you’re insurance company does not want you to renew your policy, you can surf online for insurance quote information. With regards to the accident, if your accident insurance did expire before the accident and the event would be most likely to be blamed on you then it’s unfortunate to say that you may have to pay for the total damages.
Accident insurance primary use is to provide protection against the losses that happened as a result of accidents and against its liability. It is a serious offense to drive without insurance in almost all states, so if you were noted for driving without one, your car may be impounded and it can also result to disqualification from driving where you will be sanctioned, fined and has to deal with the penalties thereafter.
Accident Insurance For Totaled Car
Reader’s Question:
When an insurance company declare that my car is totaled, how the does the company cover my accident insurance and do I get to keep my car?
Robert
Sunnyvale, California
If you have been involved in a car accident, you will inevitably have to deal with your insurance company and this situation happens to people most the time but every situation is unique and it is good that you understand your rights. However, the laws and procedures of accident insurance are also unique in every state and in every insurance company. Insurance companies in most states have the authority to declare if the vehicle is in “total loss”. The insurance company may decide to allow you to keep your car provided that the word “salvaged” may appear on the title and this prohibits you to operate the car illegally on roads and highways.
“Totaled” means that a car is so damaged that the cost of the repair would be more than the actual worth of the car. Some companies consider the vehicle a total loss when the damage exceeds 51% of the vehicle’s actual cash value (because of added storage costs, rental car, etc.), other companies only considers a total loss when the damage reaches up to 80% of the ACV.
A vehicle is only worth the Fair Market Value determined by the insurance company using the procedures defined and according to your policy. However, if by any chance you don’t agree on the ACV and FMV your insurer determined, you are allowed to bring an independent appraiser at your own expense or seek advice from a lawyer.
Accident insurance offers you to either take the money they will offer or keep the car and have it repaired (if that option is available). You can take the ACV minus the deductibles and what the insurance company may receive at the salvage yard, and fix the car yourself.
Accident Insurance Question
Reader’s Question:
I had a close friend who got into a car accident. He tried to get his insurance company to pay back the fender-bender he got, but they said some crap about ‘not reaching the franchise limit.’ What the hell does franchising have to do with accident insurance!? We’re not opening some food-chain or anything!
That got both of us pissed off, and we’re thinking of hiring a lawyer to sue their buns off. I mean, with you guys being all knowledgeable and stuff about car insurance policies, what do you think?
Daniel
Tampa, FL
That may not be the best thing to do. You may be spending a lot more than you really need to if you decide to get a lawyer, and you’re most likely to lose the case anyway. If you’re reacting this violently, then perhaps the insurance company didn’t explain the terms of your contract properly.
A franchise is a threshold of costs that have to be exceeded for the insurance company to pay for the cost of the accident. It’s sort of like a cost-limit that you’ve got to reach before the insurance companies pay up for accident insurance. For example: if your franchise limit is $100, and the estimated fender-bender that your friend had cost $99.99, then the company won’t pay for the damages.
Now if you think the estimate for the damage your car sustained exceeds the $100 franchise, then you can get couple of other separate opinions from other car-repair garages. The more estimates you get that exceed $100, the better your chances of convincing the insurance company to pay up. If they still refuse to reimburse the damage even after three or four estimates that all say the damage exceeds $100, then you can call your lawyer.
Accident Insurance Company
Reader’s Question:
I’ve had it with these accident insurance company. Each time I get into an accident, they refuse to pay up, coming up with a hundred reasons not to reimburse the damage I get.
I mean, if these so-called “accident insurance companies” will find one way or another to avoid for the responsibility they’re being paid for, why the hell should I even get accident insurance for my car?
J.L. Murray
San Jose, CA
To answer your question, some states make it mandatory to have car insurance. In California, where you’re from, you can either get insurance or make a deposit of $35,000 with the Department of Motor Vehicles. This is to make sure that you’re able to pay for any damages you could incur to other people’s property when you get into an accident.
Regarding your issue with you insurance company, you may want to consider switching insurance plans. The reason you’re paying for insurance is for the company to pay for damages that you’ll get when you get into an accident. Although your current auto-accident insurance company is hiding behind legal loopholes, it’s a really bad show of business ethic to do so. Ask friends and family what good insurance company they’d recommend.
However, there are some valid reasons why an auto-accident insurance company won’t reimburse you. Vague qualifying variables may come into play, like not being able to reach the franchise limit for damage incurred to your car. That’s why you’ve got to give your contract a serious read-over before you sign up with an insurance company.
Accident And Insurance
Reader’s Question:
How do auto insurance companies connect an accident and insurance premiums? Is there some sort of formula that they use to come up with a premium computation?
Bobby
Houston, TX
Getting into an accident and insurance premiums are definitely connected. All insurance companies work by making a bet: they bet that the payments of their insured clients will out-weight the costs of paying for accidents or similar misfortunes that the company insures. Now if you get into an accident, they’ll have to keep their end of the bargain and pay according to the terms written down in the contract. If you had an accident and you were at fault, they’d end up risking more by keeping you as an insured client. So to even out the odds that they’ll still earn money from you, they’ll raise your premium.
Now each insurance company has its own formula for computing a premium. Although most of the factors for computing a client’s premium are confidential, there is one factor about you that will have the greatest effect on the price of your premium: your driving history (or a lack of it.)
Defensive-driving classes, years of accident-free driving, your frequency of driving and driving accidents are just some parts that would determine your driving history. If your insurance company sees that you’ve been driving safely, conservatively, and sparingly, you can argue for lower insurance premiums.
Just think up ways to ensure that the insurance company won’t lose out on their ‘bet’ by lowering your insurance premium, and you’ll be able to get a discount when they make the computations for your premium.
How An Accident Insurance Policy Work
Reader’s Question:
I just got myself an accident insurance policy. I am just curious: what should I do when making claims in case something unfortunate happens to me?
Allen
Milwaukee, WI
One thing you should have done, even before you bought the policy is to read the details of your accident insurance coverage. This way you will be aware of the terms and conditions of your policy. You do not want to be thinking about your insurance coverage while going through the horrors of a vehicular accident, do you?
In case you get into an accident, contact your insurance company immediately. Prepare a statement which describes the details of the vehicular accident as completely as possible. You can make a good claim if you support your statement with pictures of your vehicle or the accident. Jot down the names and contact numbers of any witness who can help you in supporting your accident insurance claim. You should also jot down details of other vehicles and their owners since this will support your claim.
Keep all the bills as well as receipts that you incurred in relation to the accident. You should remember to be honest with all your supporting papers since you are risking disqualification of your policy if you are found presenting false documents.
Review all your policies, too, since you can probably file more auto insurance claims depending on the policies you have.