In the absence of injuries, the owner of the damaged vehicle has choices to make, following the occurrence of an accident.
What actions should be taken in the moments and days that follow immediately, after an accident?
The police may arrive at the scene. If the police prepare and file a report, the insurance company will review that report. The involved drivers should exchange information. Each needs to provide the others with a name, an address and a phone number. In addition, each driver should provide the others with the name of the car owner’s insurance company.
It helps to take pictures of the damage. Those pictures can be sent to the defendant’s insurance company, along with a demand letter. Were there any witnesses? If so, an effort should be made to obtain the names of each witness, along with contact information. Contact the company that has insured the damaged vehicle. Make arrangements for the same vehicle to be towed to a repair shop.
What happens next, if the driver has collision coverage?
The same driver can make a claim using that coverage. That driver should realize, though, that the insurance company will ask for the deductible that is tied to the collision coverage.
What happens next if the accident has taken place in a state with a no-fault system?
No fault insurance, also known as personal injury protection does not apply to vehicle damage. The owner of the damaged vehicle can file a liability claim against the responsible driver’s insurance company. Accident Lawyer in Cambridge know that after that claim has been filed, the adjuster from that same insurance company should come to examine the damage. After the adjuster has completed that examination, then the owner of the damaged vehicle should receive enough money to cover the cost of repairs. That assumes that the damaged vehicle can be repaired.
If the cost for repairs would exceed the amount of coverage guaranteed by the vehicle owner’s insurance policy, then the damaged set-of-wheels must be declared a total loss.
What happens next, if the insurance company declares the damaged vehicle to be a total loss?
Then the insurance company studies the price asked for other similar vehicles. It should confine its search to those vehicles in the area where the policyholder lives. The insurance company presents an offer to the policyholder. That is the amount of money it proposes to give, in order to cover the cost of repairs.
If the car owner is happy with that offer, the insurance company’s offered sum gets used to pay for the needed repairs. If the owner has invested lots of money in accessories, then that same owner might seek a larger amount.
