Bodily injury claims are the most expensive auto insurance claims, followed by property damages, collision, and comprehensive.
If you think you need to file a claim, you may wonder how expensive it will be or if your claim will be approved. To get there, you must first learn how to file car insurance claims correctly.
This will aid you in the success of your claims, so read on to learn more.
The Appropriate Times to File
It can be confusing to know if an incident requires an insurance claim.
To simplify things, you need to file a claim if someone was hurt (including yourself), your vehicle was damaged, or you damaged another person’s or business’s property. You should file a claim if a tree falls on your car or rocks crack your windshield.
If you experience a car accident injury, you need to file. Even if no one is at fault or it was an accident, such as backing into someone’s garage door and denting their property, you should still notify your insurance.
Information to Gather
Next in the claim filing process, it’s time to gather your car insurance claim documents. While the information required will vary based on your insurer, most will ask for the basics.
Your insurance provider will need to decide who was at fault for the accident, whether the damages occurred from the accident or something else, and how much is owed for injuries and repairs.
They will ask you to retell your side of the events to get this information. They may interview witnesses that were at the scene. If you have a police report or took pictures or videos of the event, they will collect them.
Your car insurance company will also ask for your policy number, date of birth, zip code, and other relevant identifying information. If another driver is involved, they will ask you if you have their insurance information.
While this can all seem quite confusing, you always have the option of hiring a lawyer that can go through all of this with you, ensuring that you don’t forget any vital pieces of information.
Visit these auto accident attorneys for more information.
Tips on Filing
You never want to miss your claim filing deadline, so always file your claim as quickly as possible.
You’ll have the best chances of your insurance company approving your claim and compensating you if you file your claim close to the occurrence of the incident. If you wait too long, your claim could get denied because too much time has elapsed.
Also, don’t do repairs on your car until your claim gets approved. You may not get compensated if you send your vehicle to the shop before this.
Lastly, if you are in an accident, get as much information during the event as possible. Take pictures, videos, eyewitness accounts, and anything else you can think of to present to your insurance company.
This can help get your claim approved faster and get compensated as soon as possible.
Your Guide on How to File Car Insurance Claims
Learning how to file car insurance claims can be overwhelming, especially when you aren’t sure where to start.
Yet, it isn’t as difficult as it seems, and this guide can help you through the entire process. Just remember to file your claim quickly, gather all your information, and be thorough.
Once you’re done filing your claim, check out the other lifestyle articles on our website!