What to Do if Your Insurance Provider Doesn’t Cooperate After a Car Accident
Car accidents aren’t fun for anyone involved. You have a lot of things to worry about after they happen, from making sure everybody is safe to checking the damage to your vehicle. A lot of these issues involve money and deciding on the value of items like medical expenses and parts for your damaged car.
Your insurance company can help out. You should work closely with your agent to determine what everything will cost and whether your coverage will be enough to recoup the damages. Fair insurance settlements are important in making a full car accident recovery.
We’ll cover what happens when you don’t get the settlement you deserve. If negotiations go the wrong way, you might need to get a car accident lawyer. We’ll mention a few scenarios where litigation might be necessary.
Your Insurance Company Isn’t Open to Negotiation
People want their insurance companies to back them up after an accident because they put so much of their income toward auto insurance each year. The average American spends 2.57% of their annual income on auto insurance.
To make negotiations go smoother right out of the gate, you must first call the authorities. They can talk to all the eyewitnesses, get the accident reports written out, and sort out all of the details, so nobody is lying about what happened.
Depending on your policy, your auto insurance will still cover the damages to your vehicle If you were found guilty of drinking and driving. However, having a DUI on your record will most likely raise your monthly insurance premiums.
DUIs are a felony in most states in the country. Make sure you know the rules of your state. For example, New Jersey may have different rules and regulations than Washington state. If you find yourself in a situation where you are being charged with DUI, it is important to reach out to an attorney as soon as possible.
Your insurance company is supposed to work for you. However, sometimes you may feel like you aren’t being offered a fair settlement price. In that case, you need to challenge your insurance company.
It is important to ask questions and speak to your claims representative and the appraiser who determined the value so you can better understand the value reached. Don’t always take the insurance company’s damage estimate straight up. Research the value of your car depending on the vehicle’s miles, age, and upkeep. Hopefully, this will help you come to a reasonable conclusion about the value with your insurer.
Talk to a Lawyer After a Car Accident
If you reach a deadlock in negotiations with your insurance company, it might be time to look for a lawyer to settle your dispute. Car accident attorneys can fight for you to get the settlement you deserve.
They can evaluate the damage from a third-party perspective and give everyone a fresh look at what everything should cost for both sides.
A downside to going through the litigation process is the lawyers taking part in your settlement from the insurance company. Some lawyers will take up to 40% of the settlement, making it hard to buy another car and recover decently from your medical expenses.
Switch Insurance Companies
If you see you have been disregarded by your insurance company and lawyers haven’t been able to solve the issues at hand, it may be time to look for another insurance company. Switching companies may not help in the immediate aftermath of an accident, but it will certainly make you feel better about what happens in the future.
Although many insurance companies offer the same products, their customer service and expertise are not one-size-fits-all. It’s important to find an insurance company that you feel fits your personal needs. Be sure to read your declarations page and speak to your insurance agent about your coverage, doing so will allow you to understand what may happen in situations when you need your insurance policy to come into play.
There are several ways to work around your insurance provider not cooperating with you after an accident. Even if you don’t get everything you need, never give up. Searching for a different company or pursuing litigation might help you recover as much damage as possible.
