Archives for February 2014

According to the Insurance Information Institute, most motor vehicle drivers file insurance claims about once every eight to 10 years. So drivers aren’t expected to know the process of dealing with insurance after a car accident, a process that can be annoying, time-consuming and intimidating.

For example, did you know that you DO NOT have to go to the auto insurance’s “preferred shop” to repair the damage to your vehicle? Your car is your car, and you have a right to choose where you want to repair it. But the insurance companies won’t tell you that. They will simply send you along to their “preferred” repair shop.

Why? Because they have a bulk contract with that repair shop and have strict limits on budgets. They have often said, “If you don’t use our shop, you will have to pay the difference.” According to Mark’s Body Shop, 99.9 percent of the time the initial insurance estimate is not adequate. Their shop, which has chosen not to be a “preferred vendor” out of conflict-of-interest concerns, has found that insurers pay more when shown what is “necessary to properly and safely repair your vehicle.”

If you’ve been injured in a crash that was caused by someone else’s mistake, you will need to work with a claims agent. This person is usually different from your regular insurance agent. There may be different adjusters assigned to different parts of your case — damage to the vehicle, medical treatment costs, emotional trauma costs and the like.

Document as much as possible of your treatment. As soon as possible after the crash, write down what happened, including the time of day, the type of weather, the road conditions and more. Naturally, obtain information such as all contact information of the person at fault, any witnesses’ contact information, insurance information including a phone number, and the car registration and license number of the other driver.

Insurance companies don’t necessarily want to support you through your recovery. They have a bottom line to protect and use general bell curves to determine where you should be at in your injury recovery. It’s sometimes hard to get them to deviate from these formulas and see you as an individual who has been injured and who needs treatment.

Dealing With Insurance After an Accident? Contact the Weber & Nierenberg Law Firm

The personal injury attorneys at the Weber & Nierenberg law firm are experienced in protecting the rights of people injured in car, bike, bus, pedestrian and other types of motor vehicle accidents. Our law firm represents clients throughout the Northern California and San Francisco Bay Area. We will work hard and competently to obtain complete compensation for your injuries and losses. Call 866-288-6010 today.

We represent clients in personal injury cases on a contingency basis; you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation on your behalf.