How to Proceed When You Get Your Car Damaged by Someone
1. Report the damage to the police
Sometimes it becomes a complex procedure to know exactly who damaged the car and if there was some sought of contributing element on your side too. This is why you need to report the incident to the police.
You might document the incident by taking pictures of the damaged car part, in case it is a hit and run if you can reach your camera before the culprit disappears will greatly help the police find the person responsible so you get your deserved compensation.
The police are also obligated to make an official report that will be produced possibly if the matter goes to court that is when there is a dispute of whether the other party is truly responsible for the damage.
This report taken will also come in handy when you need compensation from your insurance company. Because car insurance companies are not ‘accident watchdogs,’ they will not be able to ascertain whether the claim damages being sought truly resulted from the incident.
The police report will therefore act as proof of the damage and from there the insurance company can go ahead and quantify the damage and issue compensation.
2. Notify your insurer
With this, I presume you have already insured your car, if not, I will give a short guide to proceed in the next block.
You already know the benefits of taking car insurance, in this case, it will lift the burden of having to repair the car from you to your insurance company.
You’ll be required to notify your insurance company of the accident. From there, the insurance company will send their team of experts to look at the damage that has occurred, confirm that you have an active cover (meaning you’ve been paying your premium.)
When confirmation is given, the insurance company will go ahead and bear the cost of the damages.
There is a lot to cover when it comes to insurance and how it operates. This will be largely covered and explained to you by your insurance company.
Therefore be sure to learn how your insurance works before purchasing any insurance policy. Because many insurance companies cover car damages, I suggest that you read some Car insurance companies reviews to help you make a better choice on which company to choose and which to avoid.
While reading the reviews look at how the company responds to claims and the general customer care service, among other things.
3. Filing a claim
I didn’t cause the damage, why should my insurance company cover? If you are questioning this, then the short answer is that, yes the other party may cover the damages.
However, for quick relief, your insurance company can cover the damage and then proceed to seek compensation from the third party’s insurance company.
In law, this is often referred to as Third-Party Insurance claim. While you might not know much about it, it shouldn’t be much of a worry because often when …
Continue reading