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Getting Into an Accident
Accidents are a time of distress. It better to know
everything there is about your policy before anything
unfortunate happens. This way, you will be able to handle
your incident as seamless as possible. Also, there are
some procedures you should follow when you get into an
accident.
After speaking to a loved one, your insurance agent
should be the first person you contact after you get into
an accident!
Keep in mind that most carriers will only allow you
file an auto accident claim within 48 hours from
occurrence.
After you get into an accident, start keeping records!
When you get into an accident, try and document
everything! Including time, place, weather, name and
personal information of other party, what kind of car
there were driving and what kind of injuries and damage
was done to all partied involved.
Once your claim is initiated, keep records of all phone
conversations and make sure you keep all of your
receipts!
Don't wait to get estimates!
Getting different prices on what it will cost to fix
your car will only help speed up your claim.
Don't leave anything out of your loss estimates!
The best thing for you to do would be to contact your
state insurance department to find out what you
are entitled to claim. What you can and can not claim is
different in every state, but the same for all the
insurance companies of your state.
Be persistent! But not offensive!
Getting a claim settled timely, and in full, is not
easy. You are likely going to have to be on the phone
more than you want to be. If a claim is not settled to
your liking, compare what was offered and what is written
in your policy. Also, enlist your agent to help you. Both
of you can make phone calls to the claims department of
the carrier, requesting an explanation and a re-review.
Please note that you will get better responses and
results if you talk and act to everyone involved in a
professional manner.
If you are still not satisfied, you can file a claim with
your
state insurance department. You can also
consider going into arbitration. You will pay half of
the costs involved, but will be able to get results much
faster than if you decided to sue your carrier in court.
A last resort would be to sue the carrier.
We also feature a section devoted to educating consumers
how to obtain affordable car insurance rates.
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