Best Possible Ways to Deal with Insurance Claims:
Are you tense or stressed over the rising rate of accidents? And/or not sure what to do in the event of an accident?
Keep calm!
In this article, you will learn the best possible ways to deal with insurance claims and how to address the insurance claims smoothly.
Confusion and Stress
Many often get confused after an accident occurs. It is quite natural; after all, an accident is not a pleasant experience and quite stressing. But, in the face of these unpleasant events, when you are involved in a car accident, you will need to file a claim in order to start the settlement process with the company from where you have purchased insurance.
It is very important for you to know detail about the insurance claims.
Collect relevant information & photographs:
Before telling you how to deal with insurance claim, let me warn you. Don’t you dare to keep your car or motor uninsured. Then nobody will be there to help you out after an accident.
When a driver is in an accident with another vehicle and the other driver has damaged your car, you are not allowed to deal with another driver directly in order to settle the claim for your damages.
You should consult with the insurance company of the other driver. Once you calm down, you should focus on documenting each detail of the accident and collect information.
Instead of being overwhelmed by the accident, you should be steady enough to collect all the important and relevant information that you will require during the process of filing an insurance claims and subsequent adjusting. You need some basic details including:
- Name of the driver of the other vehicle
- Insurance company of the other vehicle/driver
- Witness/witnesses to the accident
- Police officer and report (if one was present at the time of your accident)
Apart from the information mentioned above, don’t forget to keep photographs of the accident.
Photos
You might need photos of the license plate of the other vehicle involved in the accident, damaged area of the vehicles, and the exact location of the accident. One thing, you must remember that only relevant photographs will be considered. You should assure that your photographs can provide maximum details to make logical deductions.
It is not possible to get a professional photographer at an unfortunate, unexpected car accident so you will need to take the photographs by yourself. Some tips are given below to help you take revealing photographs.
Take several shots from different angles. I understand that this is not the best time for you to take proper photographs. So, it is better to take many shots as it increases the likelihood that at least one or two would be revealing.
- Zoom into the most damaged areas.
- Don’t forget to capture the car interior.
- Capture your injuries.
- Take a backup of the photographs in different devices.
- If you are badly injured, ask someone to capture the pictures for you.
- Don’t forget to provide your lawyer, a copy of the taken photographs.
A thorough knowledge of auto insurance policy can help you deal with this matter promptly.
How to deal with insurance claims smoothly?
Claims adjusters:
You will have to deal with the claims adjuster. It, however, depends on the circumstances of your accident and the insurance companies representing you and the Other vehicle. In some cases, you might need to deal with claim adjusters from three different sections of the insurance company. Whenever you are filing the insurance claims, this file information will be shared with the claims adjuster. After a few days, you will be called by the claims adjusters. You may also be questioned by the representatives related to:
- Property damage
- Personal injuries caused by the accidents
- Damaged vehicles
Negotiation:
You will require submitting a demand letter. You are expected to state in this letter the exact claims you believe are worth of consideration. It is going to help you negotiate. Well, you have no need of sharing with the adjusters initially.
A lawyer may be required depending on the severity of your accident.
Auto body repairs:
So far as auto body repairs are concerned, the insurance company can recommend to you their third party repair shops to repair your vehicles. There are many insurance companies that help you choose a reliable shop for repairing service. You are allowed to choose any repair shop you consider good at this task of repairing.
After deciding the shop from where you want to repair your car, you should inform the insurance company and the claims adjusters/customer service representative. The insurance co. will try to negotiate a final price with the repair shop.
A Final Takeaway:
Nobody expects an accident. But preparation and prevention is always better than cure. We don’t know what is going to happen in the next moment. So, you should always keep yourself prepared for any situations. At the face of an accident, try to gain control over your nerves and act as per the instructions stated above.
If you have a lot of queries about insurance claims – feel free to comment or contact the author.
