All car owners need car insurance. First, it is the law, and second, being properly insured can save you a lot of money in case of accident or theft. The main variable when it comes to insurance policies is finding a happy medium between how much you spend and how much coverage you want. Usually, the more you pay, the better the coverage. As expected, less expensive policies provide minimal coverage. Better (more pricey) coverage, on the other hand, offers not only more financial compensation, but usually has a more hassle-free claims process as well.
A person has to submit a car insurance claim if his car is stolen or damaged in an accident. Submitting a car insurance claim is not very difficult. If a person has an accident then he is required to file a claim. He should immediately inform his insurance agent or the company through which he has bought insurance about the damage, theft or accident.
For making an accident claim a police report has to be filed. When submitting a car insurance claim the insurance company will need a copy of police report if there is death or injury due to the accident. In such a case the claimant needs to record all information with care like time and place of accident, names, address, and other details about the persons involved in the accident, and witnesses if any.
The insurance company or the agent generally inquires about the loss, damage or accident. They give information about various forms to be filled and formalities to be complied with. The person filing the claim should give all the information about the event to the insurance agent or company. The claimant should inquire from his insurance agent about the existence of any fixed duration for submitting his claim.
If your insurance policy includes collision coverage, then you should receive compensation for damage from any accident, even if it involved another vehicle or inanimate objects such as trees or walls. Ask your agent about having your car repaired. The agent should inform you of not only any repair estimate requirements, but also which auto repair/body shops you should go to for these. If anything is unclear, ask your question again, as it is better to inquire more than once than to learn later that you will have to pay such amounts out-of-pocket, etc.
You must also remember to be assertive about being informed about time frames for compensation. The importance of this is the longer it takes for the claims process to occur, the longer you do not have a repaired car to drive and the more money you might lose on rentals or other necessities. If items like rentals are not covered in your policy, the time frame becomes even more important. While you are at it, inquire further about any other benefits that you are entitled to based on your policy.
The claimant can also inquire from the agent the duration after which he will be contacted about any further proceedings about the case. If he has an auto insurance policy with collision or comprehensive cover then he will not have any worries. The insurance company will pay the damages without assigning the fault.
Submitting a car insurance claim is very easy if you have the necessary information. The best way of doing it is to talk with your insurance agent about what is needed and what is expected of you. Depending on the coverage of your policy you will get the compensation for your claim.
