Car accidents
Car accidents are a headache and half. Ask anyone who has experienced even a fender bender it is no fun at all. Between dealing with the cost of repairs, insurance companies, and the other people involved not to mention, the physical and emotional damages they cause, it is a huge stressor. Now, although this content may not be able to prevent your car accident, after all, accidents are unplanned! the hope is that it will assist in easing you stress in these situations.
Fender Benders
Fender benders are the annoying mosquito bites of car accidents, in most cases they do not cause a tremendous amount of damage to a person’s car but can leave ugly scratches, dents and other minor damages that are a pain to get fixed and that still raise your insurance rate.
HERE ARE SOME STEPS TO GET YOU THROUGH MINOR COLLISIONS:
First things first, check yourself and make sure you are physically okay after any collision. If you have not sustained any major injuries, make sure you have your phone, license, and proof of insurance handy.
Take pictures of everything
Exchange information with the other driver and ask them if they are alright
Call the police (if necessary)
This can get a little tricky because in all cases the other driver may not have insurance or there may be circumstances where someone may not want to call the police. Use your judgement wisely in these situations, if you believe you should call the police and your gut is supporting that then follow it and do that.
Okay, so now you’ve done all you can do at the accident, and have all the information you need. Now it’s time to deal with insurance companies. Most insurance companies have different time frames for filing a claim but you should report the incident as soon as possible, so it’s fresh in your mind and you can remember everything that happened. Once you’ve filed a claim, you will be assigned and agent and you will begin the process of repairs and deductibles.
What is a deductible?
A deductible is the amount the policy holder must pay out of pocket before the insurance company will pay for any repairs. These are dependent on the policy selected when the insurance was first acquired, they can range anywhere between $350 to $1000.
The insurance company will send someone out to take a look at your car and provide an estimate for repairs and then they will send you a check in the mail to give to the body shop. This process normally takes anywhere between a couple of days to two weeks.
If you’re getting repairs done to your car the insurance company will normally cover a rental car for however long the repairs will take. Enterprise is the most common rental car place and they will charge you a $100 security deposit that you will get returned once you give the rental car back. You must also return rental cars with the same amount of gas that was in there when you got it.
Finally, along with accidents come rising monthly payments. The thing with these things is it is all dependent on the circumstances, situation, insurance policy, previous driving record, insurance company. The bright side is, if you keep your record clean for a year the rate will drop an of you keep it clean it will continue to do just that.
Major Collisions
Major collisions are obviously more serious than fender benders and although the steps are similar in most accidents, with major collisions you have-to factor in more circumstances.
Physical well-being: Cars are so destructive they have and can end lives so always prioritize your health and well-being after a collision because that is the most important thing. If you are physically harmed, stay where you are and wait until the police and an ambulance arrives. In a large portion of major collisions one if not both vehicles are normally totaled.
What does it mean to have your car totaled?
Your vehicle is considered totaled when the cost to repair the damaged vehicle exceeds the cost of the vehicle (or set percentage of the cost of repairing the vehicle).
What happens if my car is totaled?
If your car is totaled, the insurance company will give you an estimate after they have looked over the car of how much the car is worth and you will have to turn over the deed to your car to the insurance, and then they will send you a check in the mail.
Lawsuits
Major collisions where there was a ticket issued, involve lawyers and court.
If you are at fault find a good defense attorney and they will talk you through the proceedings, these situations are very dependent on the severity of the incident and previous record. The punishments begin at fines and community service and end with jail time.
If the other person is at fault, make sure you have all your pictures of the incident printed, all their information, any texts, the police report, medical expenses and anything else pertaining to the incident organized and in a folder
Car accidents are not predictable and dealing with them can be very stressful but just make sure while driving you are practicing safe methods, don’t text and drive, don’t drink or do substances and drive don’t speed excessively or weave in and out of traffic, and wear your seat belt. This is literally life or death so please drive safe.