Whenever you are involved in an accident, there are many bills that
need to be paid. The medical bills and property damage bills for you
and the other vehicle can easily end up costing hundreds of thousands of
dollars. Long-term rehab and loss of work can potentially create
monetary problems for years to come. This is why people purchase car
insurance. Car insurance - even cheap car insurance - will help you pay
these bills if you are involved in an accident. Whenever you request
one of these types of payments, you are submitting a claim.
Insurance companies are in the business of making a profit, just like
any other business. The more claims submitted, the less profit there
is to be made. Therefore insurance companies like to insure people who
are "low risk" and the least likely to be involved in an auto accident.
Higher risk drivers will have to pay more for their policies, whereas
low risk drivers get to benefit from the best cheap car insurance.
This knowledge makes some people suspicious about the insurance
business, and how they go about handling claims. When you submit a
claim, your insurance company will work with an insurance claim
adjuster. This adjuster can be employed through your insurance company
or through an independent company. The adjuster will come out and
access the damages that resulted from the accident and come up with an
estimate on how much it should cost to fix said damages. This means the
insurance adjuster will likely be contacting mechanics and body shops
in order to figure out how much parts and labor should cost.
When you get into an accident, one of your first calls should be to the insurance company.
Some people put this phone call off because they are worried about the
increase in their premium. However, an insurance adjuster needs to be
sent out as soon as possible in order to correctly assess the damage.
If too much time has passed the insurance company might not accept that
the damage was caused by the accident in question. This means you could
get stuck paying to repair some of the damage yourself.
Sometimes the total amount of damages will cost more to fix than the
car is worth, and in these situations, your vehicle is "written off."
Then the insurance company will pay you the book value for your vehicle,
which may be more or less than what you believe your vehicle is worth,
and might not be enough to get you into a new vehicle. Some companies
allow you to purchase an extra option that states that if your car is
totaled within two years of purchase, you will receive the original
purchase price rather than the book value.
Although nobody likes an increase in premiums, the whole reason you purchase cheap car insurance
is to have your bills paid if you are in an accident! Submitting a
timely claim is important so that you can get back on the road and back
to your life.
