Car Repair: Getting Your Insurance To Pay

If you are looking at an expensive car repair bill due to an accident you've been in, your insurance company may be able to foot the bill. Of course, people tend to use their insurance as a last resort. They know that as soon as they file a claim, their premiums will be raised accordingly. Some companies even go so far as to drop customers after they've been in an accident. While this is a dubious business practice (and you would probably be better off with some other company than the one that pulled this), it is still nonetheless the case, especially for many small, local companies. In any event, if you don't have the money for the repairs, use your insurance. That's what it's for, after all. Here is how to go about getting them to pay.

A lot of people don't know the particulars of their insurance policy. Make it a point to learn those particulars before you get in an accident. If you can't manage to decipher everything there is to know from your written policy, make an appointment with an agent to go over it step by step. Take notes, and keep those notes in a safe place so you'll know exactly what you can and cannot do. Many people run into a nasty surprise when they try to file a claim, only to be told that their claim is outside the boundaries of what the insurance policy covers. Don't get denied because you didn't know you weren't covered.

After being in an accident, make calling your insurance company one of your first priorities. Let them know exactly what happened, what the cops said, and what you expect out of them when it comes to car repair. If you get this done rather quickly, you will see that you can get the whole process over with much faster. Depending on where you live and what the laws are with insurance, you may be entitled to payment from the other driver's insurance company. This is, of course, far more preferable than depending on your own company, but if you live in a state with no fault laws or if you were the cause of the accident, this clearly won't be possible.

In most cases, your insurance company will have car repair shops they like to work with and will pressure you to go to one of those for your work. Make sure you understand whether or not they are telling you to have to go to one of these shops, or whether they would just prefer it. Some companies will just cut a check based on their own investigator's findings and leave the choice of where to get the work done up to the customer.

Depending on your insurance company, you may be entitled to a rental car while your vehicle is being fixed. Go ahead and take advantage of this, since the cost is not going to add substantially to your premium and you will need transportation in the coming days.