Other than a reasonable auto insurance rate, the next thing that a motorist should worry is how his insurance company would handle his insurance claims. No one in his right mind dreams of being entangled to a car accident. However, it still pays to know how the insurer will respond to your would-be insurance claims from a minor fender-bender up to a totally wrecked vehicle.
Many of our agitated drivers are not totally convinced as to how their insurers are carrying out the claim process. They feel that the evaluation and payout processing was never too close from being transparent. And since the decision of the insurer depends entirely in their own interpretations, they feel that they’re living at the mercy of their insurance providers. State laws influence these decisions with regard to whose fault the accident was, hence, the knowledge of fault laws in your state is nonetheless, crucial.
Each insurance company designates people to investigate accidents. They are responsible for determining how much the at-fault driver should pay. The methods used to calculate the fees aren’t always scientific as opposed to the ones used in determining the quotes. They also tend to differ from one company to another. Private investigators rely heavily based on the pictures submitted and, of course, the police report taken during the accident. In most cases, both parties will share a percentage of the fault based on estimates. It’s the discretion of the insurance company to hammer one driver, say with 45% at-fault, but again, these are purely arbitrary.
As cited earlier, the interpretation and implementation of fault laws vary from state to state. There are states that require the insurance company to pay a percentage of the at-fault driver, while other states require the insurer of the at-fault driver to pay the other party’s cost if the at fault is 50% or higher. As always, determining these figures isn’t always black and white especially in accidents where both drivers are held responsible.
The result: both parties are required to pay for each other’s cost or they pay for their own expenses. Again, this is all dependent to state laws that govern the insurance business structure. Some states don’t even have no fault laws, directing the drivers to pay for their own expenses unless if the accident is too costly already.
One thing is for sure: if you are the at-fault driver, your insurance premiums will rise. This is the rule of the thumb in the world of auto insurance. However, there are ways you can do to keep the premiums at bay. One of which is to take legal actions concerning the decision of your insurer in slapping you with high rates. Alternatively, you can take driving lessons and show them that you are not a high-risk driver, as previously believed. Being a safe driver is always a surefire way of getting reasonable insurance rates. Lastly, understand your state laws about fault laws and how they will affect your premiums after filing an insurance claim right after every accident.
