Car insurance is a highly useful product that will protect your vehicle against damages due to an accident and also mitigate the various costs you will incur like treating your personal injuries and compensating the third party affected. There are a large number of car insurance packages to choose from. The different kinds of cover you will get depends on the package you choose and the various provisions given in the package. In the event of an accident, here is how your car insurance can work for you.
Reporting the accident
If your car meets with an accident, you will have to report the accident to the insurance broker or agent or the insurance company within seven days irrespective of who is at fault. If you cannot report within 7 days, report it at the earliest possibility after that. As per the rules, the insurance company is under no obligation to honor your claim if it is submitted late. The insurance company will require a number of details from you including your personal details, the details of the car, the information about the other vehicle and the other insurance provider, the details of the police officer who is investigating the accident.
What happens after the accident is reported?
Once the accident is reported, the claims adjuster assigned to your file will contact you. The adjuster will decide if he or she will meet you in person or the process could be handled over the phone. The claims adjuster will also decide to what extent the insurance policy you have bought will cover the costs of the accident. You can seek any clarifications about the settlement with the claims adjuster who will guide you through the entire process.
How is the fault assessed by the insurance company?
In every accident, someone is determined to be at fault either partially or fully. In order to determine which covers must be applied to the accident, the insurance company will use the fault determination rules and make a fault decision. The circumstances of the accident is compared with a number of accident situations whose diagrams are maintained with the insurance company. If none of the scenarios can explain who is at fault, the fault is allocated as per the ordinary rules connected to the negligence law. Based on the findings, the driver can be at fault anywhere between 0 to 100 percent. If your fault percentage is more than 25, your premiums rates will go up when you go for a renewal of the policy. If you do not agree with the insurance company’s decision, you can ask for a review of the entire accident scenario.
The claims adjuster will outline the coverage you are eligible to get depending on the policy you bought and the scenario of the accident. Once these factors are decided, the insurance company will take further steps to compensate for the losses you suffered due to the said accident wholly or in part as per the claims adjuster’s findings and decision.
