|
FAQ's on Auto Accident & Handling of
Minor Car Accident Claims
-
How does uninsured and underinsured motorist
coverage work?
-
What if my claim is denied and the insurance company will not pay?
-
Will having an accident make my insurance rates increase, even if the accident
was not my fault?
-
How does uninsured and underinsured motorist
coverage work?
Uninsured motorist coverage
pays for personal injuries caused by an uninsured driver. Minnesota, North
Dakota and Wisconsin all require this coverage on each policy of car insurance. This type of insurance acts
just like the insurance that the uninsured driver should have had on his or her
car, except there is no requirement that any no-fault threshold be met before
payments can be made.
Underinsured motorist coverage
picks up where the liability coverage of the other driver leaves off. If your
personal injuries exceed the amount of the other driver's liability insurance,
your underinsured motorist insurance covers the excess damages under current
law. Neither of these coverages
apply to damage to your car or other property. They apply only to injuries and
are very seldom an issue in the minor accident case.
-
What if my claim is denied and the insurance company will not pay?
Your own insurance company must
respond to a claim within 30 days of receiving reasonable proof of the claim.
The other driver's insurance company, however, is under no such restriction, and
you may need to make yourself the "squeaky wheel" in order to get proper
attention. Identify the reason why they
haven't paid. Simply call and ask the adjuster. Provide the adjuster with any
proof that is missing. Frequently, it is as simple as sending a written damage
estimate or a copy of the police report. Insurance companies will deny a claim
if possible, but they cannot ignore a well-organized demand for payment
supported by hard evidence in writing.
Insurance companies are always
looking for documentation in writing. If something cannot be documented in
writing, it does not exist for most insurance claims adjusters. You are
therefore well advised to submit everything you can in writing from the start. Your file may be sitting on
someone's desk with many other files and the adjuster with 200 other claims to
handle just hasn't gotten around to it yet. A call from you will often get
things moving again. Follow up your phone call in writing. Be persistent.
If you genuinely believe that
the insurance company is being blatantly unfair to you, you may wish to make a
complaint with the office of your state that oversees insurance companies. In
Minnesota, this would be the office of the Minnesota Commerce Commissioner. In
Wisconsin, this would be the State Insurance Commissioner. You may need to
retain a lawyer to file for arbitration or start a lawsuit. Find out whether
the company has an appeals process or an arbitration process. If they use
arbitration, ask whether the process is binding arbitration (which means the
arbiter's decision is final), or non-binding (meaning you can still take the
insurance company to court if you are unsatisfied with the decision).
Depending on the amount of money in dispute, you can seek relief through
Conciliation or District Court. Contact the Department of Commerce,
Consumer Response Team (CRT), (800) 657-3602, 85 7th Place East, Suite
500, St. Paul, MN 55101-2198, for advice or assistance with your claim. The
CRT helps consumers with insurance questions and complaints. If there is a
dispute with a company or person licensed by the Department of Commerce, the
CRT will attempt to resolve the matter informally. If the issue cannot be
resolved in this way, you may be asked to send a letter to the department in
order to begin a formal investigation.
-
Will having an accident make my insurance rates increase, even if the accident
was not my fault?
Most insurance companies will surcharge your policy, meaning they can increase
your premium based on an accident or a traffic violation. The surcharge is
imposed as a result of the claim payment and not based on who was at fault.
sometimes there is a dollar threshold, or sometimes the second or third
no-at-fault accident can trigger a surcharge. The surcharge is usually limited
to a specific period of time, such as 36 months. (Read the surcharge
disclosure sheet provided with your policy.) A surcharge would not apply, of
course, if the other party's insurance company paid the claim or reimbursed
your company for 80 percent or more of the costs of repairing your vehicle.
<<== Complete Index of Questions
More
questions on handling auto accident claims ==>>
|
