Car Accident Insurance Claims: 2 Policies You Should Read to Get Money

To receive money through your car accident insurance claims, you first need to learn which insurance policy covers your vehicle damages. There are 2 main insurance policies that pay for your vehicle repair costs. The first place to look is the.

1. Liability Insurance If you want money from your auto accident insurance claims, you’ll need to file a Third Party Claim against the other driver’s Property Damage Liability insurance. A Third Party claim is anytime you want to initiate a car accident claim against another driver’s insurance provider. The driver and the insurance company are the first two parties; you’re the third party.

In most cases, the liability insurance is good enough to cover the cost of an average car accident. Even if the other driver bought your state’s minimum liability insurance requirement, you’ll see it is more than enough to meet your car repair costs. For instance, New York’s state minimum property damage liability insurance is for $10,000. Other states minimum requirements fall between $5,000- $25,000.

The first thing you should do is get a copy of the other driver’s insurance policy. That way you can check out how much money you can essentially get from his/her liability insurance. The liability insurance will be shown as three numbers in which the first two numbers are for bodily injury limits while the third number represents the property damages limits.

For instance, a New York State Liability insurance policy may read 25/50/10. This would mean that there’s “$25,000 for each injured person with a $50,000 limit per vehicle accident and $10,000 for property damages.” Reading the insurance policy, you now understand the most you can get from your car accident property damage insurance claims is $10,000. You can then determine if this is enough to pay for your auto repairs.

Unfortunately, simply because the insurance company can afford to pay for your damages, doesn’t suggest it will. You’ve still got to demonstrate the other car owner was the cause of your car accident.

Therefore it’s necessary that you gather evidence say like , photographs, car accident reports, statements from witnesses etc. The auto accident insurance claims process can also take a few months to complete mainly because the insurance companies aren’t really in a hurry to pay for your damages.

This can make dealing with another insurance company very aggravating and time consuming. To avoid this you can file a auto accident insurance claim under your.

2. Collision Coverage

Collision insurance coverage is a policy with your own provider that pays for your car repair costs no matter who was responsible for the car accident. The benefits of filing under your collision coverage are that:

*You are going to get money for your car damages.

*You save time since you don’t have to gather evidence against another car driver.

*The auto accident insurance claims process is better, due to the fact are working with your own insurance company instead of another insurance provider.

*The entire process is generally completed in a short time and you can receive an accident settlement check in a couple of weeks.

However, the problem with filing under your own collision insurance coverage is that you are going to pay a deductible. The deductible is normally a few hundred dollars which you will pay from your own pocket. After you have paid the deductible, the insurance company will pay for your remaining repair costs.

So you need to make the decision whether it is worth paying the deductible to get your car repaired in a short time or not pay the deductible and prepare to convince another auto insurance company to pay for your car damages.

There is no right or wrong choice here. Just be informed of the various choices you have and how much each could cost you both in terms of time and money

Find out more tips to increase your car accident insurance claims and personal injury settlements

Comments Off

Asif L Shaikh on April 8th 2011 in Car Insurance

3 Simple Tips to Increase Your Auto Accident Claims Settlements

Getting money from your accident claim is hard. Insurance companies are known to downplay the amount of your vehicle accident damages and accident injuries. Some insurance providers even fight you over how the vehicle accident occurred. This results in you feeling frustrated and getting significantly less money from your car insurance claims.

Here are 3 small ways you can prevent this and raise your car accident claim:

1. Take Pictures

The very first thing you need to definitely do is get plenty of pictures of your car accident scene. Having a good amount of pictures from your crash site will clearly show the amount of your damages and injuries. If you can show a variety of pictures from your car accident, the insurance company can’t deny the extent of your damages.

In order to improve your car accident claim, take pictures of:

*Damages to both vehicles from the outside and inside.

*Pictures of street signs.

*Adverse Weather Conditions

*Other owner’s license plate and car model.

*Road side damages such as skid marks

*Injuries or bruises.

*Positions of vehicles before they are moved.

You can even use the accident pictures to clarify who was responsible for your auto accident. It is possible to combine, an apparently pointless picture of which direction traffic was going followed by a picture of your vehicle damage, to show the point and speed of the crash. You can then work with this fact to more clearly discuss how your car accident took place. What’s even better, your story will now be reinforced by evidence.

With most cell phones today, you can easily take pictures and videos of the car accident scene. The more information and facts you can collect from your vehicle accident, the better your chances of getting money from you auto accident claims.

The next thing you really need to do is

2. Go Over the Car Accident Report

The accident report can be the most dependable resource of facts about your auto accident. The report has crucial details such as:

*Names and contact information of any witnesses.

*Information regarding the other driver and passengers (e.g.: driver’s license number and auto insurance company.)

*Citations and traffic violations (e.g: speeding, crossing red light)

*A drawing and detailed description of how the accident took place

You need to check out a copy of the police report and verify if it gives you any significant information. For instance, is there anything at all in the brief description of the car accident that confirms the other car driver was at fault your vehicle accident? Were there witnesses that you weren’t aware of? Be sure to thoroughly examine the automobile accident report and determine if it can assist your auto accident claim.

The last thing you will have to do is

3. Locate Witnesses

Having a witness at the accident scene will surely help your auto accident claim. A witness can validate your story and give you more credibility. This is particularly true if you do not know the witness.

If there were witnesses to your car crash, you will need to get the following important information :

*Names.

*Address and/or cell phone number.

*A written statement of how the accident happened.

You’ll want to be advised that insurance companies have been known to get hold of witnesses independently to chat about the auto accident. They do this to plant wrong information in the witnesses mind, which makes them doubt what they recall about the car crash. It is important to try to speak with your witnesses before the insurance companies so that you can get a signed statement from them about how the auto accident happened.

Learn more simple ways to increase your car accident insurance claims and auto accident settlements

Comments Off

Asif L Shaikh on April 7th 2011 in Car Insurance

The 5 Important Questions When Using a Personal Injury Calculator

Using a personal injury calculator helps you work out how much your auto accident claims are really worth. Here are the top 5 questions people ask about assessing the exact value of their car insurance settlement.

1. How Can the Personal Injury Calculator Figure out my Auto Accident Claim?

The most basic approach that is known to be implemented for accident injury claims is:

Pain Multiplier X Medical Payments + Loss of Income

The “pain multiplier” is a number normally between 1.5 and 5. This multiplier number is chosen depending on the degree of your auto accident injuries; the more significant your injuries, the larger the multiplier.

For example, a minor injury perhaps a sprained neck is more likely to have a lower multiplier (1.5-3). While a far more significant and painful injury, such as a broken leg, would get a bigger multiplier (3-5). The multiplier range may even go to bigger figures (10) for much more serious and permanent injuries.

The next component which is included in the claims formula is your medical costs, also called “special damages.” These payments include the price of your medical treatments, visits to the clinic, ambulance ride, X-Rays, pain supplement etc.

The next thing which is applied in your insurance settlement is your loss of income. This refers to the total amount of wages you missed in response to your personal injuries. For instance, if you’re injuries caused you to stay home from work, in that case your lost earnings would equal your daily pay rate times the amount of work days you missed.

2. How Soon Should You Begin Using a Personal Injury Calculator?

The most appropriate time to apply the injury calculator is at the end of your medical treatment. You should always have your injuries fully diagnosed and analyzed before filing an injury claim. This gives you a more reliable estimate of your total medical bills that should be included in your final settlement.

3. Who Should Not Use the Personal Injury Calculator?

Many personal injury claims involve minor injuries that will not require you to instantly hire a really expensive lawyer. For these sorts of claims, you may use the injury calculator to get a rough estimate of what your car accident settlement might be worth.

But the truth is, there are insurance claims which should not be handled without having the help of a skilled injury lawyer. Each of these auto accident claims involve more severe and long-term injuries like irreversible disabilities, lost or severed hands or legs, painful head injuries etc. If you were badly injured, your best course of action is to meet with a lawyer who is knowledgeable about claims similar to your various injuries.

4. How Reliable is the Personal Injury Calculator?

The injury calculator doesn’t give you the exact closing settlement, but a first estimate of the amount your injuries are really worth to the insurance companies.

Most people would claim that the injury calculator is too simplistic. That it does not deal with the intricacies and subtleties of an individual’s personal injury claim. Some people are quick to mention Colossus, an advanced software program used by the insurance companies to examine insurance claims.

Having said that, the main advantage of trying the personal injury calculator is not to tell you what will be your exact settlement amount. The most important advantage is to help you recognize how your specific settlement amount will be calculated. The settlement calculator emphasizes that the range of your final settlement amount will be generally based on:

*The severeness of your injuries

*Your overall medical expenses.

*Your lost wages

These are going to be the essential points in your injury settlement irrelevant of which specific software program you use.

5. Should I Use the Personal Injury Calculator?

You will always have the opportunity of hiring a lawyer further down in the claims process. The safest advice is to use the settlement calculator to get a fast analysis of what your auto accident claims can be worth.

Find more tips to increase your car accident claims and personal injury settlements

Comments Off

Asif L Shaikh on April 7th 2011 in Car Insurance

5 Helpful Tips Before Writing a Demand Letter

Writing a great demand letter can really increase your personal injury settlements. A well crafted letter shows the insurance companies that you are well prepared and that you really know how the car accident claims process work. To craft a persuasive letter of demand you should do 5 things. First you must…

1. Point out Who Was responsible for the Car Crash

To get money from your auto accident insurance claims, you want to show that the other vehicle owner was the reason for your automobile accident. Even if you were partially to blame for the car crash, you want to show that the most of the fault was on the other driver. The less responsibility you can get for the car crash, the higher your personal injury settlements.

You’re able to show who was liable for your vehicle accident by getting:

Copies of the auto accident report. Statements from witnesses. Photographs of the vehicle accident scene.

After you have gathered this information, then you’re able to reference it inside your demand letter. As an example ,you might write “As it is clearly written in the accident report, and in the supplied witness reports, your insured driver was speeding and collided in to the back of my motor vehicle.”

By citing evidence you have collected, you are clearly demonstrating that your settlement demands are primarily based on facts. This will make your letter of demand more concrete and raises your probabilities of receiving a high car accident settlement. The next phase is to…

2. Keep Track of Your Accidental Injuries

Simply stating that you had been harmed in a auto accident isn’t really sufficient. In order to make your injury settlement demands much stronger, you need to show proof that your particular injuries are real and really serious.

The best source of your personal injury is your doctor’s medical report. The medical report contains a more thorough evaluation of your injuries. It identifies the facts of your car accident injuries and may contain any remedies you were taking to reduce your pain and suffering.

If your injuries are not outlined in the medical report, they might as well not exist to the insurance companies. That is the reasons why it’s necessary you go over every one of your injuries, no matter how small, with your doctor while having them recorded in the medical report. If you are not recording your personal injuries, you’ll have a difficult time persuading the insurance companies to offer you a very high injury settlement.

After you have archived your injuries you must…

3. Document Your Property Damages

In order to show the level of damage to your vehicle, you really should provide an estimate from a mechanic shop. Your estimates ought to include the price to restore vehicle parts and the price of labor to take care of your vehicle.

Beyond just the damages to your motor vehicle, you can also obtain reimbursement for damages to your your own things. This can include products like your:

*Personal computer

*mp3 player

*Precious jewelry/Watch

*Smartphone

It is best to determine the total financial impact of damage to your personal property and bring it your letter.

4. Keep Track of Your Lost Income

In the event your injuries caused you to miss any days from work, you’ll want to include that in your demand letter. To start out you need to get:

A letter from your boss /manager saying how many work days you missed Copy of your paystub.

In your demand letter, you can then reference these two papers and say your lost income to be your daily rate times the number of work days you missed.

The very final thing you need to do is…

5. Read a Sample Demand letter

Reading a sample letter of demand helps you you see how all of the above tips comes together to form a well-written and effective personal injury settlement claim. This will help you grasp the most effective way to organize your content and which details to talk about in your letter to maximize your injury settlements.

Learn more ways to increase your car accident injury claims and personal injury settlements

Comments Off

Asif L Shaikh on March 22nd 2011 in Car Insurance

How to Negotiate More Cash from Car Accident Claims

If you want to have more money from your car accident claims, then you need to understand how to negotiate with the insurance companies.

The first step in mastering how to negotiate is to have an understanding of the person you will be negotiating with; the auto insurance adjuster.

Who is the Insurance Adjuster?

The insurance adjuster is the primary person with who you go over and negotiate your car accident claims. The insurance companies use the insurance adjuster to be in charge of taking care of your car accident claim. The insurance claims adjuster is the person who will review how much your insurance claim is actually worth.

The insurance adjuster will:

1. Compile and assess the particulars of your car wreck

2. Verify your automobile insurance policy

3. Search for who was the cause for the accident

4. Negotiate with you about your final settlement

5. Give you a paycheck

But the important and vital point of the insurance adjuster is to resolve your accident claim really fast and cheaply. That is why the insurance company hires them and that’s how the insurance companies analyze their effectiveness. An insurance adjuster who takes too much time to complete car accident claims or is not able to obtain a very low insurance settlement, will not make their claims supervisor happy.

You need to understand that negotiations with the auto adjuster will be very difficult. If you’re not prepared, you can end up losing thousands of dollars in your car insurance settlement.

When you are negotiating your car accident settlement, the two most important things you need to pay attention on are …

1. Do Not Hurry to Finish

The auto insurance adjuster will aim to put pressure on you to finish off your auto accident claim very quickly. That’s because the more time your car accident case is open, the more money the insurance companies can actually lose.

You should in no way close your insurance settlements quickly. You might be tempted to negotiate your car accident claims swiftly to get your money faster and escape the stress of dealing with the insurance companies. However, you should avoid this urge because otherwise you will end up loosing a lot of money in the long-term.

Having a instant auto accident claim settlement does not benefit you if your vehicle repair rates aren’t accurate. A fast settlement will not help if your car accident injuries are not properly clinically diagnosed and taken care of.

These things will end up costing you a whole lot more money in the long-term. Claims that are compensated rapidly only help the insurance companies, not you.

So take your time looking at your claim, discussing with doctors, getting estimates from a number of auto repair shops, and truly recuperating from your auto accident injuries well before closing your insurance claim.

The next thing you really need to know is that you should…

2. Never Accept the First Offer

A popular strategy by the insurance adjusters is to give you their lower settlement offer first. The adjuster does this to see how desperate you are to complete the auto accident claim.

Understand, the adjuster’s most important mission is to save money for the insurance company, not you.

If you take the 1st offer, you’ve have missed way more cash from your auto accident settlement. This is because the adjuster almost always has more money to negotiate with. The insurance adjuster is given a variety of settlements that they can offer you. The range of your insurance settlement will vary depending on adjuster’s amount of experience.

For example, a relatively inexperienced adjuster can be allowed a range between $5.000 to $10.000. A different adjuster with more experience can have a a lot higher range, perhaps between $10 000 – $25.000 to close a claim. You may not know the range of your insurance settlement the adjuster can present you but you should never agree to the 1st offer.

These are some simple suggestions that can help you improve your car accident claim settlement.

Learn more ways on how you can get money from your car accident insurance claims and personal injury settlements

Comments Off

Asif L Shaikh on March 22nd 2011 in Car Insurance