For the most part, people don’t get into car accidents very often. This is why there’s so much confusion when they do get in one – they’re not sure what information they’re supposed to be supplying, they’re not exactly sure who to call, etc. The claims process afterwards between insurances is even more confusing.
After you’ve been in an accident, you must call your insurance as soon as you can to file a claim. This lets your insurance know that there have been damages to your car, any possible injuries, and that they will all need to be assessed. During this process, your insurance agent might ask you for medical records (if you were taken to the hospital, any information about injuries that were sustained, etc), wages lost, bills to fix your car, and more.
It’s important not to tell the other driver that was involved that you were to blame. In some cases, partial blame can be placed on the other driver, which would mean that they would need to pay to fix some of the damages as well.
When you get into an accident, it’s important to get as much information about the other party and the accident as possible. Take pictures of the incident and write down the contact information for any witnesses and police officers on the scene. If the case gets problematic down the road, this information will help to clear things up.
Determining the cost to fix your car will differ between insurances. For some, they will tell you to take your car to a specific shop to get repairs done. Others will allow you to pick a shop yourself, and still others will provide a list of approved repair places in your area. We recommend checking with your insurance before taking your car anywhere so that you know the cost will be approved and covered.
Most determinations will be made by your insurance without you knowing much about it. They will get in contact with the other driver’s insurance, determine who was at fault, and will notify you of your deductible.
It’s important not to think that you have to agree to a settlement that you believe to be unfair. We’ve heard many cases where our client was unjustly “lowballed” so that the insurance didn’t have to pay as much. However, you can fight it. In fact, we recommend getting an attorney through the whole process so that you know you will get a fair settlement.
Even the smallest of accidents can have issues. If you are having trouble working with both insurances to get the repairs and money that you need to get life back to normal, call Tad Morlan, an experienced traffic accident attorney right here in Springfield, Missouri.
