Hit and Run Accident – How to Handle the Accident and the Insurance Claim
A hit and run accident is more common than most of us think. Nearly 30% of all drivers in the U.S. are not insured. This leads to a very high rate of hit and run accidents daily. This type of situation is a very
confusing and can take you by surprise.
If you are in this unfortunate situation, try to get as much detail about the other vehicle as you can. This is not always possible since you can be hit in a parking lot and will not have any idea of who hit you.
However, in the even that you were present, try to identify the type, model, and color of the car. If you can get the license plate number then that would be even better. One thing you should never do in a hit and run accident is to get in a car chase. You never know why the other vehicle is running away and if they can possibly be armed and dangerous. Consequently, if you violate any traffic laws, you will not be excused. That also applies if you get in a second accident or you hit someone else.
You need to call the police as soon as you can. This is often a source of frustration. The police will ask if your hit and run accident happened in a parking lot or if anyone was injured. If you are in a parking lot, the police will not come to the scene because it is private property and they do not have “jurisdiction” over that parking lot (unless there are injuries). Sometimes police officers do answer to hit and runs in parking lots, and sometime they will only answer if there are injuries, however, they are not obligated to. You could easily end up holding the bag.
To protect yourself, you should still call the police. If the police department does not come to the scene, then go into the nearest police station and file a “walk-in report”. Make sure you carefully analyze and document the scene of the accident before you leave. To learn what to do and what information you will need when filling a police walk-in report, visit http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/Police-Report.html.
Make sure that you get as much detail as you can about the scene and of what happened. If you can take couple of pictures, this would really help your case.
The next step is to file a claim with your own insurance company. To be covered for a hit and run accident, you need collision or uninsured motorist property damage coverage (uninsured motorist bodily injury if there are injuries). You will be subject to a deductible that you purchased when you took out the policy. If you do not carry either of these coverages, then your insurance company will deny coverage.
You will have to report the claim within a reasonable time. You will also be required to file a police report, even if it is a walk-in report. Going to the closest police station and filling out the necessary forms will ensure that you get your car fixed. You could jeopardize your coverage if you do not file a police report or inform the insurance carrier within a reasonable time.
You can file the claim even before you file the police report. You just have to make sure a police report is file within a reasonable time. Some police departments will not accept walk in reports for matters older than three days, some others will give you more time. Either way, try to file the report before the three-day mark.
Once you have the report, fax it to the insurance company and let them handle the hit and run accident and the damages. They will follow up with the police investigation to find the responsible party. If the are able to collect, they will inform you and refund your deductible according to your state regulations.
Maximizing Your Auto Accident Insurance Settlement
Reaching a settlement in an auto accident case with an insurance company is advantageous to both your and the company. You get the money that you are owed as soon as possible to pay back medical bills and fix your car. You also get more of the money that you are owed because you don’t have to pay for large court and lawyer costs. Insurance companies also benefit because many times they will pay less as well as lengthy court cases are expensive to insurance companies as well. However, to avoid being taken advantage of, there are several things that you should know to negotiate with insurance companies.
First, if you have any kind of personal injury involved in the case, make sure that you have proof of the visit your made to an emergency care unit as soon after the accident as possible. Insurance companies consider you having been injured if and when you seek care for your ailment. If you don’t seek care for an injury or you sought it later on or don’t have proof of it, your insurance company can negotiate down the amount they owe you because your injury won’t seem as serious.
If you have to have your car repaired, make sure that you also bring copies of any receipts from those repairs as well.
The most important thing to keep in mind when dealing with insurance companies is to remember that you are going through negotiations with the company, just like you would with a business deal. Make sure that you are prepared and have a plan before you even step up to the table. If there is lots of money at stake, you should considering hiring an attorney. They have much more experience with both negotiating in a legal environment and dealing with insurance companies and will make sure that you get the amount of money you deserve.
Steps in Car Accident Insurance Claims
Car accident is one of the leading causes of personal injury. A few suffer minor injury but almost half of that involved severe injuries, permanent disability and death.
A recent study shows that car accident results thousands of deaths each year. In fact, it is the leading cause of death of people between the age of 6 and 27.
Having been involved in a car accident is a traumatic experience. Aside from the physical pain and suffering, there is emotional distress, loss of income and property damage. All of these constitute financial compensation, which one can recover from the party at fault or from his insurer.
How to determine damages after a car accident
After a car accident, the next thing to do is to ask for compensation for the injury and other damages suffered. With this, the help of a capable car accident insurance lawyer is certainly needed.
The following are the steps to consider in filling your claim.
Secure a copy of the police report. Know what protection your insurance policy will provide. Sign a medical release so that a copy of the medical record will be presented to the insurance company. Make a claim for physical injuries under medical pay coverage. If the other party is at fault, make a claim under the uninsured motorist coverage. Secure at least two car repair estimates if your car is totaled. Present estimates and allow your car to be photographed. Present bills for storage and towing cause. Ask your agent to help arrange a temporary substitute vehicle if you have rental reimbursement coverage. Notify your agent for any damages discover during the repair.
After filling your claims against the party at fault, you can also file a claim against your insurer. Filling a claim against the latter requires patience and hard work. The following are essential dos and don’ts that will guide you to facilitate your claim.
Do’s
Do contact your insurance company immediately after the accident. Do take time to read your insurance policy. This will guide you on what kind of claim you are covered. Do your best to get details of the accident. You can also take pictures of the damaged vehicle or get the number of the witnesses. Do make a note of the insurance detail of other persons involved in the accident. Do keep a written account of your conversation with the insurance agent and other people involved in the accident. Do keep receipts and bills of all expenses incurred in the accident to be presented to your insurer. Do be frank and honest to your insurance collector so that your claim will not be denied. Do check if you have other insurance policy that provides coverage for the same accident or injury. Do consult a car accident insurance lawyer.
Don’ts
Do not admit any liability. Just stick on the facts without giving any opinion. Do not give anything in writing to your insurance officer especially if you do not understand some part of our claim. Do not let any time limit of your insurance claim runs out. Most of insurance company provides a period for filling claim after an injury. Do not disregard the period or else your claim will not be considered valid. Do not take everything that your insurance agent tells you especially with regard to your claim. Most insurance companies like to settle claims in an amount smaller than that actually suffered. Do not sign anything that is a release or a waiver of anything. If you are ask to sign and you are not sure of it call an attorney. Do not take a check as a full and final payment unless you are certain that it is a fair compensation of your claim.
Accident and Sickness Insurance For the Self Employed
If you are just starting out in business or have been self employed for some time you should consider protecting not just yourself, but also your home and family against the possibility of you having an accident at work or home, or perhaps getting sick for a long time and not being able to work.
Both of these risks happen every day to someone unfortunate and it would be a brave person to jeopardise their home and business when accident and sickness insurance is widely available online to purchase in an instant cover that has been specifically designed for the self employed, and would remove all those worries.
Accident insurance is always sold as a policy in conjunction with Sickness insurance. This can usually be purchased individually as what is known as a disability cover or bundled up in a group of insurance products usually known as ASU (Accident, Sickness and Unemployment) or as Protection Insurance, commonly known as PPI.
When you purchase accident and sickness cover, you purchase levels of protection as units of what is known as monthly benefit. So for example if you need 1000 units of monthly cover you pay by the percentage rate cover unit determined by how old you are.
Typically a thirty year old in the UK who buys disability insurance from a well known independent supplier, will pay as little as GBP18 per month for GBP1000 worth of benefits, should they get sick or have an accident, leading to missing time off work.
ASU can be particularly cheap for self-employed persons if bought without the unemployment element of cover, which has significantly increased the cost of this type of cover in the near past due to the economic crisis.
Working for yourself is hard enough work alone, without having to worry about where the money is going to come from to pay the bills if you have to stop your business dealings for any time due to an accident or sickness.
Protection Insurance products such as mortgage, lifestyle and income protection, all offer peace of mind and cover for anyone who works for themselves or as a contractor, and is not covered by any existing employer accident compensation.
Be aware that any long term pre-existing medical condition usually excludes you from purchasing Payment Protection Insurance or Sickness Insurance cover.
Shop around the independent providers of ASU for accident insurance, as there are always good deals to be had in this very competitive market
What You Need To Know About Accident Health Insurance
When it comes to insurance, do you know exactly what accident health insurance is and why you should get it? I didn’t the first time I heard the words accident health insurance, but it turns out it is something that is common and very necessary. It is something that you should probably look at and consider investing in for the good of you and of your family. You don’t want to get stuck in a situation where you are spending all of your money on the results of a freak accident illness.
Basically, accident health insurance can be defined as the insuring of individuals or people. There are a variety of accident health insurance policies out there. They range from the most basic personal accident and illness contract all the way up to corporate programs that insure the employees of a huge conglomerate company that reaches across national boarders.
An accident health insurance policy can be issued for a one time event like a trip. It can also be limited to a specific period of time like outside working hours or something of the like. Basically, though, it will provide coverage for people in general rather they be business people, sports players, volunteer workers, or trades people. They can even be made to cover students or employees that work overseas.
Some accident health insurance policies are designed for corporate clients. In fact, pretty much every corporation of any size has some type of accident health insurance policy. They may have a group PA policy or a travel plan of some sort, but they all usually have one. It also may depend on the size and general make up of the company. What it amounts to is that no matter how much they insure their buildings, equipment, and vehicles, they still need something to protect them from the loss of their most valuable asset, which is their employees.
Then there are also individual accident health insurance clients. Every person should consider an accident and health insurance policy. You may think that nothing will happen to you, but the truth is that anything can happen at pretty much any time. No matter how careful you think you are, you have no way of forcing others to be as careful as you are driving your car, walking down the street, or playing a game at the gym. You could even hurt yourself in your own home, and if anything were to happen you certainly don’t want to be stuck with medical expenses that you cannot cover.
Insurance is something we think about all of the time. We insure our homes, our cars, and even our jewelry. However, you should never forget to insure the most important thing you have which is yourself. Basically, accident health insurance is a policy that insures a person against illness or accidental injury. Whether it is your own or one for the employees of your company, you owe yourself at least a look at what a good accident health insurance policy [http://www.gateinsurance.com/] can do to help you.
How Much Will My Insurance Rate Increase After One Accident?
It is likely that most people would routinely expect an increase in their auto insurance if they were involved in even one accident. Almost always, any claims that are brought to the insurer will result in an increase. This raise in premiums may not be immediate but when it comes time for your policies renewal, that’s when you will get hit with the new price.
The amount of your premium increase will be dependent on the state in which you live and the factors that are involved with the accident. These would include if the accident was, in any way, alcohol related and mainly who was at fault. Anyone that is found to be involved in an auto accident where alcohol was a contributing factor can expect more dire consequences. The person that was drinking and driving will either not be able to get their policy renewed or will pay much greater premiums than before the accident.
Typically, your insurance company’s rating system and the laws of the state where you reside will play a big part in determining the future of your auto insurance. If you have had a good driving record, have never been involved in any accidents, and alcohol was not involved in the accident then it is possible that you may not see any rate hikes.
Some insurance companies are now offering the “Forgive the first accident” program. Always check to see if your insurance company offers a program similar to that. If you are in the market to buy insurance then definitely inquire about it as part of your routine questions. It is a good thing to have as back up.
Insurance companies calculate your insurance rates by plugging in certain criteria to formulate a figure. The biggest factor to insurance companies is determining risk. An accident free driving record brings forth little risk, equaling lower payments. Once this changes that is when you may see an increase in your premiums.
Another thing to consider is the severity of the accident. If it was a minor fender bender then there may be no ramifications. On the contrary, if the accident was sizable and there was quite a bit of damage involved that is when you are more likely to see a price increase.