Car Accidents And Your Insurance
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Renewing Your Car Insurance: What About the Fine Print?
When we go to our insurance agent to renew our insurance, we give them a check, and they give us a proof of auto insurance. What many of us don’t realize is that we are, in fact, signing an insurance contract. (when you buy house insurance for your house, you are sent a contract in the mail with the particulars of the policy in it along with the fine print). The particulars of the contract and the fine print are contained in legislation and we are all expected to look it up on our own. Unfortunately, very few of us do. More about our Car accident lawyer in San Antonio here
Why is our one claim really two claims? If we are involved in an accident that is not our fault, we go to the insurance company and expect that they will simply take care of our claim and look after us. What we don’t know is that, by law, there are two separate claims involved. The first is against the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident. If this driver is out of state, the distinction between the two claims is easier to understand. An out-of-state driver might have insurance through another insurance company. That company would step into the at-fault driver’s shoes and handle the negligence claim (which would include such things as pain and suffering, out-of-pocket expenses, loss of earnings, future loss of earnings, future care costs, loss of homemaking capacity, etc.). Until this claim is settled or has gone to trial, the insurance company for the at-fault driver does not have to pay you any money whatsoever, including loss of wages. This can be (and often is) quite harsh on people who have bills to pay and mouths to feed.
The second claim is with your own insurance company based on the insurance contract you have with them. That contract provides that your insurance company must pay you certain accident benefits which are payable regardless of whose fault the accident is. These benefits are modest, but they include things like medical prescriptions, physiotherapy, massage therapy, chiropractic, home modifications, rehabilitation benefits, psychological counseling, loss of earnings to a maximum of $300.00 per week, etc. These benefits are payable regardless of the status of your claim against the at-fault driver.
What if both drivers are from the same state? The distinction blurs somewhat when both vehicles involved in an accident are from the same state. and are both insured by the same insurance company. In most cases, the insurance company. assigns one adjuster to handle both claims. That adjuster represents the at-fault driver on the negligence claim (not on your side) and the accident benefits claim under the contract (on your side). Be careful when negotiating your claim directly with the insurance company. Unfortunately, it is often the case that the distinction between these two claims is not explained by the adjuster to the claimant. Internally, the insurance company is capable of allocating monies that are paid out between the two policies which often occurs behind the scenes. A person needs to understand the distinction between these two claims and where the adjuster’s allegiances are and be careful when negotiating their claim directly with insurance companies.
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