Accident Not Your Fault?

Dealing with your own insurance company after an accident can not only be a waste of time, but a huge inconvenience and, needless to say, having to deal with another person's insurance agency can be tremendously frustrating. The person found at fault in an accident is held accountable to inform their insurance company of the event. This doesn't always happen, however, so it is generally acceptable if you contact their insurance agency and report the claim. In order to do this you will need to have enough information about the person found at fault such as their phone number, the correct insurance agencies name, and address.
Even when not found at fault, be sure to contact your own insurance agency. When this is done, a "good faith" note will be added to your insurance and over time, will provide you with a discount for being a safe driver. It will also be in your benefit if the person found to be at fault denies responsibility and so does the person's insurance agency.

When to Fight and When to Stay Quiet
Always know that it is illegal for an insurance agency to deny a claim when they haven't investigated the event or if the evidence points to a person under their liability and deny a claim to the person who was injured or had their vehicle receive any damage. As stated before, if you contact your own insurance company when an accident occurs, your fault or not), another insurance company cannot claim that they have no evidence that their policyholder was found at fault. They can only do this if in fact you were found at fault. That goes both ways though, if you were found at fault, then your insurance company cannot claim that you weren't just because they don't want to pay for your accident. If this happens though, you can and should fight the insurance company in court. If you have been seriously hurt because of the accident, this idea is more important to undergo now more then ever.

When doing this, it is best to hire an attorney to fight along side you and present your case. Hiring one will allow a better chance of success in getting what you are owed since most attorneys are trained to deal with automotive cases. They will provide the best question and answers when it comes to all that legal aspects of the case. Take note though, that you will have to pay for their services from the money that you are rewarded from the case.

Maintaining Honesty
People can be deceitful, plain and simple. In order to stop a person from lying and getting away with it when it comes to an auto accident, always collect the following information. Get the other driver's address, phone number, policy information, and the correct insurance agency they are insured by, eye witness statements and their contact information, call the police if they aren't already there, and call your insurance company after the police have let everyone go on their way.

Making sure all this happens, will stop any problems that may come up when the other driver tells a twist of the truth when notifying their insurance agency. Remember that their insurance company will be behind their story as to avoid having to paying a claim. The same will go with your insurance company.

Another way a person can try to get away with lying about an accident is if the police officer doesn't file a report due to the damages of a vehicle appearing to be minimal. Police officers do not have to file a report if the damages seem to be minimal and there is no way to make them file one in the first place. If you do all the things mentioned before, than you can rest assured that the insurance agency will still have to pay your claim.

Of course if you do not do this, then you can always take the deceitful driver to small claims court if the damages are under 500 dollars. You will need a lawyer to stop any insurance company from stalling and hoping you'll just settle for little to no money.

Premiums and Deductibles After an Accident
When another driver is found to be at fault for the accident, most insurance company policies will go after the driver found at fault and will seek payment from them for both damages incurred and the deductibles on your policy if you have any, such as collision deductible.

If you make a claim and are found to not be at fault, you will not have to worry about the policy's premium rising. It wasn't your fault so you will not have to pay for another driver's mistake. State law mandates that insurance companies cannot increase a premium for a policyholder in which they are found to be not at fault. So instead insurance companies will add that little note of "good faith" and will over time reduce your premium for being a good driver and reporting it. Keep in mind though that if you are found to have been in a lot of accidents and even if you aren't found to be at fault, an insurance company can discontinue coverage if they have adequate reasoning that you are just to high of a risk to maintain coverage by them. Overall keeping these tips in mind, they will help to keep your premiums down, liars at bay, and more importantly, keep yourself insured when driving.