What to do once caught in an auto accident

In the event of an auto accident, your immediate action should include filing an insurance claim to compensate the damage to the car.

In life so many unexpected events occur every now and then. You may have woken up to a bad morning and as the day wore on, it seems you are having the worst day ever. What looks like a bad morning at work, because you will just be aggravated when you meet an auto accident. People immediately panic and lose control when this happens to them. But that's the last thing you should do.

If you have suffered physical injury or if the car has suffered severe or mild damage, you need not pay for the medial bills or for the care repair shop, if the mistake is not on your part. If it is the other party involved in the auto accident who was at fault and you obeyed the traffic rules and regulations, you can make his insurance company pay for all the subsequent costs. Among those you can claim include personal injury and all other types of damages.

Now-a-days, rental, medical and auto insurance are only a few of many types of insurance that people pay for. Thus all kinds of settlements for the personal injuries can be obtained directly from these insurance companies. The court has nothing to do with this transaction. It is the transaction between the victim and the insurance company. If the insurance company rejects the claim, then it can be considered legally and you can make an appeal to the court.

Some people believe that insurance companies readily pay out claims as soon as auto accidents occur. It doesn't work that way. This is a very long process. File a report with the insurance company regarding the accident and they will send out their insurance agents to look deeper into the whole incident.

You will not be able to avail of the insurance amount, if it has been found that the error was not on your part. If you can't present competent and reliable evidence to back up your claims, you won't see a single cent of the settlement amount. Just as an example, let us assume that your report to the insurance company states that your car's tire has been damaged. You won't be paid the insurance money if the research conducted by the insurance company reveals that your tires have only been recently damaged. There are certain medical conditions that are sometimes reported as personal injuries; these won't merit any settlement amount, either. For example, you might have back pain for many years. If, in any auto accident, you claim to have back injuries, the insurance company will reject it. Any pre-existing medical condition, which is reported as an after-effect of the auto accident will not be accepted by the insurance company.

You should have something credible to justify your claims. It does not even matter if your claims are true or not, as long as you can convince the insurance company and you have persuasive evidence to back it up.

The insurance policy amount of the other party - the one who hit your car - will be more than the amount of settlement that will be provided. The insurance policy limits will differ among individuals. It can be as low as 25,000 US dollars or as high as 200,000 US dollars. The settlement issues will be discussed without any intervention by the courts so as to avoid paying for legal fees.