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Being involved in a car accident is certainly not a pleasant experience. It can be pretty stressful, especially if there are injuries of the participants. However, after the initial process where you will go through the process of reporting the accident, you will find yourself in a situation to deal with the damages of your car. Every car owner needs to know what he should do after the accident concerning the responsibility and if the insurance will cover the expenses.
It is very important to keep all the reports and to contact the insurance company in a timely manner, so you can be fully familiar with all the payments you should receive. Make sure you are constantly in touch with the insurance company and resolve the issue in the shortest period possible. There are a few ways that it can be done and it mainly depends on the extent of the damage on the car. Keep reading to find out more about dealing with the damages after a car accident.
Determining the fault
Depending on the fact who caused the accident, the steps may differ, but here are a few things that you need to know. In case that the accident wasn’t your fault, there are some steps that you should take to get your car repaired. The insurance of the other driver will cover the expenses of the damage if it gets determined that it is the fault of the person that has a contract with them. However, you should know that the process of determining the fault is not short. It will take some time until they manage to go through the entire process. It is something that you need to keep in mind, so the repair may not be done as fast as you would like to.
On the other hand, using your own insurance is a little bit faster way to get the payment you need. The cost of car repair will be covered no matter whose fault is it. It can be later on repaid by the insurance company of the other participant in case it gets determined that it is not your fault. In cases when there is no possibility to determine who caused the accident or when the person does not have the insurance, then you will still be protected by the insurance company you cooperate with, but you may need to pay a deductible.
What should you do to repair the car?
In case your car is still in a pretty good state, so it can be driven you need to get in touch with the insurance company of the other participant who caused the accident to get the damage assessed. This can be done in two ways – you will either need to drive the car to the location of the insurance company or someone will contact you and come to make the assessment. Make sure you are fully familiar with the time they will come to do the assessment.
After this part of the process is done, you will need to go to the body shop where you will get another estimate so you can get a second opinion. In case the price of the repairs exceeds the price that the insurance company is ready to pay, the manager will need to contact the insurance company and inform them about the additional expenses. After that, the insurance company will release the payment for the repairs, so that you can get your car fixed. It is important to mention that some insurance companies will ask you to get a few offers and they will accept the lowest one in the end.
On the other hand, if your car is not in the drivable state, the adjuster will need to assess the overall damage to the car. You will receive after that a check that will cover the repairs. You need to keep in mind that there is a fee if your car is in the salvage yard, so you need to remove it as soon as possible.
There is also the case when the repair of the car is bigger than the price of the car before it was damaged. This is the case when it is called a “totaled” car. The insurance company will then calculate the market value before the damage and you will get the amount.
There are two options if your car is completely ruined – you can keep the car and get the amount the insurance company is ready to give, or you will accept the amount they are ready to give and let them dispose of the car. In case you choose the first option, you will then need to find the right way of disposing of the car. You can contact USJunkCars and ask about the price they are ready to give to your car. The process is pretty simple and fast – you will get the offer and the time they will come. This way, you will have the money pretty fast and they will come and the car from your yard. It is a win-win situation where you will get your issue resolved fast, so you can start looking for some other car and invest all the money you have into finding the model that will suit you the most.
As you can see, there are some steps that you need to take after being involved in an accident, so make sure you get yourself familiar with every step you need to take. If you are not sure how everything should go, seek advice from an attorney. Always double-check every information you get from the insurance company and write everything down, so you don’t get yourself in the situation to forget anything or to misinterpret any of the steps. It is very important to do everything in a timely manner and be very meticulous so you don’t forget anything.
