Filing a Claim with Your Insurance Company is Important after a Car Accident
Transcript:
Jared: Hi, my name is Jared Richards. I'm one of the attorney's at Clear Counsel Law Group. Somebody's asked if both drivers in a vehicle accident have insurance, is it important to file a claim? It took me awhile to ... I think I understand what was being asked and I think there's a misunderstanding about what the process is to actually get insurance money. The process of actually getting money from an insurance company involves filing a claim with that insurance company.
Regardless of who has the insurance the first step is find out what insurance is available. Next, find out which type of insurance is going to apply to the type of damage that you have. Property damage is different than personal injury and personal injury from the other side's insurance company is different than recovering from personal injury from your insurance company.
It's always a good idea to make sure every insurance company is aware of the accident, file a claim with all of them, and then work with them. Preferably also if you have an attorney work with your attorney to make sure that all of the damages whether it's property damage or damage to a person's body are taken care of through the proper insurance's.
Looks like Brian has a question.
Brian: What should you do if an insurance company won't pay a claim that you filed?
Jared: Well at that point you absolutely need to get an attorney involved. I recommend getting an attorney involved, on every case, from the very beginning, but if you have decided to go it on your own and the insurance company is refusing to pay then go consult with an attorney. The attorney is going to be able to analyze the nature of the accident and decide who's actually at fault and if it turns out the other guy's at fault the attorney will generally be willing to help make that claim. Quite frankly, often insurance companies will stone wall people without attorney's and when they know that the person has an attorney, who actually litigates, the insurance company will often take settlement discussions a little more seriously. Anyway again, if you have any questions give us a call and we're happy to help.
