Car insurance companies are important if you own your own vehicle. It covers accidents and helps you pay the damages incurred. It is taken as a precautionary measure to lessen the burden cause by an accident. However, there are several car accident insurance problems you have to deal with.
Car accident insurance problems
1. Expensive insurance premiums- sometimes this cost even more than your vehicle. The reason why this happens is because the “risk exposure chances are high.” Your insurer will assess how much you have to pay. They factor in your age, marital status, sex, type of vehicle driven (car, SUV, sports car, etc.)
2. Contractual clauses- the insurance company may ask for higher premiums or disapprove coverage for clients who have high-risk exposures.
3. Redlining- even racial profiling is evident in the insurance business. This has been not practiced in the US lately and is now considered as illegal.
Insurance coverage claims problems
• Out of date claims-this is one circumstance that may lead you to encounter car accident insurance problems. If you neglected to contact your insurance company immediately right after the accident and provide them the police report and other necessary documents, then the claim will be stale.
• Insufficient documents- it’s important to take pictures of the accident and necessary to gather all information about what happened exactly during the accident that happened. Avoid being ambiguous when it comes to explaining to your insurer what exactly happened. They should know the correct information on how it transpired.
• Vague coverage- drivers themselves may not know exactly what is covered by their insurances. And apparently, some insurers may not know exactly also. It’s important for you to keep track of your specific coverage so that you won’t have to encounter any “surprises” from you insurance company. Sometimes, there are some insurers who may claim ambiguous clause in the policy regarding the types of damages incurred the cost of damages covered and what kinds of explanatory circumstances might avoid coverage.
Moreover, they may present value issues. The insurance companies may claim that your vehicle is almost worthless thus it doesn’t require that much payout. So it’s very important to file all insurance documents or records to avoid these circumstances.
Sometimes you might encounter problems with claiming from the claims department. If this happens, your insurance agent can help you by stepping in and pleading your case. They work on a commission basis.
However, if your agent is not available to help or assist you immediately then you can call directly the company’s supervisor handling insurance claims. If by any chance, still they refuse to cooperate with your then you may go directly the company’s division who handle such cases. Present them all necessary documents. Prepare them just in case you will need to fax, e-mail or send them through snail mail.
However, if still they choose to dispute with your claim, the next best thing to do is to call your local or state’s insurance department. Tell them specifically the scenario. Know if you are right or wrong and what you can do after. They may be able to guide you on the steps or exact words you can say to your insurer.
Make sure you also have the names, phone numbers and other details (your conversation with your insurer) of the insurance company which you can present to the local or state officer/s assisting you. So that if the insurance company is still uncooperative, the local or state department can call them and handle it themselves.
However, if still it doesn’t solve your problem, then it’s time to get yourself a lawyer with an insurance law background to handle your case and claim.
