What to Know and Expect in the Car Accident Claim Process : Automotive Addicts

Getting into a car accident is stressful enough without having to deal with the complicated insurance part afterwards. To be honest, the process of dealing with the claim process can feel like walking you through a confusing maze where no one is speaking plain English and everything takes far too long.

There are a variety of factors involved, including how badly people were hurt, how quickly everyone gets evidence required to finalize the details, and how willing the insurance companies are to simplify or make things tricky. 

How long it takes to settle your car accident case can vary greatly. Some claims will be resolved in a few weeks if it’s a simple matter while many others can drag on for months or longer before you finally get your settlement.

Knowing what to actually expect to happen at each step can help you and make you feel a lot more confident in this process as well as avoid getting stuck behind unexpected delays or complications.

Reporting the Accident

The first thing you have to do is report the accident to your insurance company as soon as possible following the accident. Don’t wait, thinking the other driver or their insurance will take care of it all; and don’t put it off, hoping the problem goes away by itself.

You should be ready to give the insurance company all the basic information about the accident: when and where it happened, the parties involved, damage assessments, and anything you know about the other driver and their insurance. The more thorough and precise you can be at the beginning, the more smoothly the rest of the process tends to follow.

In this initial report, you may get some preliminary estimates for vehicle repairs or medical treatment, but do not expect these to be the final amounts. They are just to get the process started.

Investigation Phase

Once you file your claim, the insurance company will assign an adjuster to the claim. The adjuster becomes your contact, and will investigate what happened, and determine how much the claim is worth.

The adjuster will begin to gather evidence to figure out exactly what happened in the accident cirumstances. The adjuster will want copies of any photos you took from the scene of the accident; police report, witness statements, and anything else that would help them decide who, if anyone, was at fault, as well as how much damage was actually inflicted.

The one thing that can hold up this phase, is you’re still getting medical treatment for your injuries. The insurance company typically wants to wait until there is a complete picture of your medical status, before they begin to toss around serious settlement amounts.

Medical treatment and documentation

If you were injured in the accident, follow your doctor’s orders. This is not only important for your health, it is also important for your claim. Insurance companies are paying very careful attention to whether or not you are actually receiving the treatment your doctors’ recommended to you.

Keep detailed and organized records of everything related to your medical care including: doctor visits, the treatments you received, your bills from every single medical visit (and your prescription costs), and the time you missed from work due to your injury. Your records will form the basis of your claim to determine how much you should be compensated.

If you continue to seek ongoing treatment and/or physical therapy, your claim may take significantly longer to resolve because the insurance company wants to know the full amount of your medical costs and the long-term impacts before agreeing to a settlement amount.

Settlement Negotiations

Here is where things get interesting. The insurance company’s first offer to you will almost always be less than what your claim is worth because they want you to accept their offer without question or any argument.

One of the most important parts of the negotiation process is calculating your damages, and at this point, you want to carefully review the written settlement offer, and not feel pressured to accept their first offer. Take the time to understand what is included, what does not get compensated, and if this amount makes sense according to your damages and costs.

If there are substantial disagreements over fault / how much your claim is worth, the next stage in the negotiating process might be mediation, where a neutral third party, your mediator, will help both sides negotiate a settlement without going to court.

Filing a Lawsuit, If Necessary

In some situations, negotiations do not lead to a settlement and to receive fair compensation, a lawsuit must be filed against the other driver or their insurance company. If your claim ends up going to court, a lawsuit prolongs the timeline to resolve your claim, usually for many months or even years.

When a lawsuit gets filed, there is a discovery period where both sides exchange relevant information, take depositions, and bolster their respective sides. This can be lengthy, and it can be quite expensive. Filing a lawsuit and enacting the discovery process may be the only way to get the insurance companies to take your claims seriously.

Even if your case goes to trial, if you have a strong legal team assembled, you have a better chance of a successful trial verdict and compensation payment for your injuries and losses.

Stay Up to Date and Stay Strong

Every stage of the car accident claim process can feel overwhelming, especially during a time that you are recovering from injuries and returning your life back to normal. However, understanding what to expect along the way and that the timeline for your claim to be resolved is not set in stone can help relieve a ton of the stress and uncertainty of the claim process.

Most importantly, if you have legal guidance from an experienced attorney, it will give you a much more efficient process, usually quicker outcome, and a better result than trying to manage your case completely on your own.

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