If your car is involved in an accident, you can make a car insurance claim.
This page contains all the basic information you need to know before submitting a claim and how you can improve your chances of getting your claim approved and paid.
What is an insurance claim?
When submitting an insurance claim, you formally ask your insurance company to provide money that will allow you to pay for repairs and other costs caused by an insured event, such as a car accident or home break-in.
After sending all the documentation, the insurance company usually sends one of its agents to investigate what happened. After confirming and verifying the claim, you will receive a check by post or in your account to cover the losses.
While a lot of claims are approved, a large number are also usually denied due to one reason or another. However, this issue can usually be resolved. If not, it might mean that you bought auto insurance from the wrong provider.
This is why it is important that you do proper research before buying any insurance product from any provider. There are many ways to do due diligence about an insurance provider. For example, if you are considering buying auto insurance from Talisman Casualty, you can visit the website for Nevada Insurance to get more information on who owns Talisman Casualty or any other Nevada-registered insurance company; this is a way to ensure authenticity and reliability.
What to do if you are involved in a car accident?
· Do not admit at once that you were guilty.
· If the accident is serious, call emergency services and the police.
· Exchange names and other details with other drivers; find out about independent witnesses as well.
· If someone refuses to provide you with their details, the insurer may be able to track him/her based on the vehicle identification number or license number; be sure to get those down.
· Inform the insurer immediately of the accident, even if you do not want to make a claim.
· If someone is injured, present your insurance details or certificate to the police. If you can’t do it at the accident site, take the documents to the police station within seven days.
· Take photos that you can later use as evidence if you want to make a claim.
· Quickly provide medical help to any injured party so as to prevent serious injury or death.
How to make an insurance claim
Each state has laws governing this process; you may have to contact the relevant authority in your state if you have any questions or if you think you are not being treated fairly.
Follow these steps to file an auto insurance claim:
· Call your agent whether you are guilty or not.
· Follow your agent’s instructions to provide all accident-related documentation in order to file a claim.
· You may need a police report.
· Keep copies of all documents and invoices related to the accident.
· Make detailed notes after talking about the accident.
· You need to know who you spoke to, what they said, how to contact them, as well as the date and time of incident.
Check with your agent to find out the following details:
· Deadlines for submitting claims and invoices.
· Time limits for settling disputes.
· When you can contact the insurance company.
· When you need to have a damage assessment.
· What the policy covers for renting a car during repair and how much it costs.
Problems with an insurance claim
Insurance is designed to help you. As a customer, you have the right to fair, appropriate redress and customer service. However, if you have problems getting across to your claims adjuster, or you do not understand something, contact your insurance agent or representative.
Usually, problems can be resolved if you run into difficulties during the claim-filing process.
If you think things are being neglected or waiting too long for an answer, contact insurance arbitration to find out what you can do. If you get in touch with the ombudsman before hiring a lawyer, you can save money and have your claim resolved. They can even help you file a complaint with your insurance company.
Conclusion
Once you can get your claim across and provide all the relevant details, the insurance provider will take some time to determine your case before giving you an answer.
In most states, the insurance company is required to give a response within 30 days; you should be able to know whether your claim is successful or not within that period.
Should your claim be denied, you have the right to an appeal via insurance arbitration or other regulatory bodies.
