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I think we all dread this telephone call. "Hi Honey. I don't want you to worry, but I was just in an accident."
My husband's car was side-swiped on the passenger side, which was thankfully vacant at the time. Over the next few hours and days, we learned important lessons from this car crash, about how to insure our vehicle in future, how to repair the damage and what to focus on first.
Exchanging Insurance Information and Getting Witness Names
Exchanging information after a car crash can be hard. But my husband insisted on obtaining insurance information from the woman who hit him. In addition, he took down the names of the witnesses who saw the accident take place. The following day the other insurance company assumed full responsibility for the accident. The witnesses all supported my husband's account that the other driver swerved into his lane suddenly. And when the police arrived, my husband gave these names to the officer, to be included in the final police report. All these helped establish that my husband was no at fault for the crash.
Our Insurance Deductible
The accident gave us a new perspective on the question of our deductible. Although we were dealing with a no-fault accident, we would still have to pay our insurance deductible out of pocket if we pursued a claim through our own insurance company. Alternatively, we could work with the other insurance company directly, because they assumed 100% fault. But they would not work with the quality body shop our insurance covered. We decided to take a financial hit and hope that our insurance company will be able to recoup the funds on our behalf.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
My husband was injured in the accident. It was then that we realized that our injury protection under our insurance policy was capped at $10,000. This seems to be the default setting most insurance companies choose when offering customers a quote. The day after the accident, I called my insurance agent and increased our PIP to $100,000. With today's medical costs, a single night in an emergency room can cost many thousands.
Rental Car Provision
Our insurance policy included a rental car provision, capped at $1,000. We were grateful to have this benefit once we heard that repairs on my husband's car would take a week and half (at least). Though we had to cover 20% of the rental car cost, we hope to be reimbursed by the other insurance company as part of the claim process conducted by our own insurer.
Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney
Though a personal injury attorney does not charge upfront fees, he collects 30% out of the final settlement. This leaves 70% to cover any medical bills or property damage, which must be paid at 100%. If the insurance companies can work out the medical and property damage claim, this can be an easier solution. Until we know the extent of my husband's injuries, we will not know if an attorney will be needed after all.
Property Damage Repair
Though it was tempting to work directly with the other insurance company to repair our vehicle, we decided to focus on the ultimate outcome rather than immediate convenience. We didn't want to void the warranty on our Infinity by having refurbished or generic parts installed in order to save money. We knew that our insurance company set a quality control bar that complied with vehicle warranty qualifications. By going to a quality body shop approved by our insurance company, we ensured that our vehicle will be repaired to its former condition, or as close to it as possible.
More from this contributor:
The Coupons I Use Most
Why I Skip Using Balance Transfer Checks
Choosing the Smart Way to Pay
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