When an insurance company hears that a policy holder has been involved in the collision of two or more motored vehicles, then the insurer needs to know where the accident took place. The rules that pertain to the vehicle damage process vary from one location to the next.
The three different processes that now pertain to such damage claims
The process that has been used for the longest amount of time is called traditional fault insurance. For damage claims made under that process, the insurer only pays for damage under one condition. That condition pertains to the time when someone has been found at-fault.
Whenever an accident takes place in certain areas, the insurance company must recognize the existence of no-fault claims. Under such a process, the insurer pays for specified damages, whether or not someone has been declared at-fault.
If a policy holder has taken out collision coverage, the insurer must cover a wider range of damages. The insurance company must cover all accident-related damage, even if the policy holder has been found at-fault for the given accident. The insurer covers that damage, because the policy holder has paid for the additional coverage. Still, the insurance company might refuse to pay for a future accident, if it were to happen within a given period of time.
How much money does one insurance company have to pay?
The car owner that gets into an accident needs to read his or her insurance policy. That policy should state the maximum amount of money that the insurer has agreed to pay, should the policy holder become involved in a collision. Sometimes that maximum amount goes towards the necessary repairs.
At other times, the insurance company can declare that the damaged vehicle has been totaled. When a vehicle is a total loss, it has become damaged to the point where it can no longer be repaired. At that point, the insurer has the right to say that it will reimburse the policy holder according to the vehicle’s market value.
After handing over the amount of cash that equals the vehicle’s market value, the insurance company has the right to take the totaled car, truck, van or SUV. Sometimes the owner of the damaged vehicle disagrees with the value that the insurer has placed on his or her damaged set of wheels. In that case, the same owner needs to hire a qualified appraiser.
The qualified appraiser then re-examines the extent of the damage on the vehicle that the insurance company stands ready to possess. Obviously, the appraiser’s figure would shape the ultimate decision of the person that has hired that same appraiser, in hopes of countering the insurer’s figure. Of course the cost of hiring an appraiser could also influence the thinking of those that have some say in how to respond to the insurer’s demand for possession of the totaled vehicle. Additionally, it helps to hire the services of a personal injury lawyer in Burlington to assist you in filing for claim.
