What to Know about Insurance if Hit by a Car

Here are the things you should know about car insurance when involved in an accident to help avoid ending up in a bad situation or making a bad decision.

Immediately find out if your policy was active at the time of the accident. Even if you were hit and it was not your fault, not being insured can still get you into legal and financial trouble.

Did you know?

• Some state laws suspend your license if you were not insured at the time of an accident; regardless of fault.
• Liability coverage does not cover your vehicle if you are found liable. In that case, the coverage may only cover other vehicle’s damages and occupant’s medical injuries.
• Liability coverage has limitations and any damages in excess of the total limits may be left unpaid and due by the at-fault party.
• Full coverage may not actually provide “full coverage”. There are limitations to every coverage, see your policy or ask your agent to explain what would no be or only be partially covered.
• You may have to pay a deductible if the other party was uninsured or if it was your fault. (only applies if physical damage was included in the policy)
• Your own insurer may not provide you with a rental car unless you paid a premium for “rental car coverage”.
• You may have to pay towing charges if you didn’t have “towing” included in your policy.
• You are responsible for getting the other party’s information such as driver’s license number, plate number, insurance company name and policy number.
• You must contact your carrier to file a claim.
• You may have the right to choose your own body shop or repair facility.
• Salvage vehicle may not be valued equally to a non-salvaged vehicle.
• You can contact your state’s department of Insurance to file complaints if you feel your claim was not handled fairly.
• Most companies do not want you to admit fault because you may think you are at fault when you really were not.
• Most policies only offer minimal medical coverage for their policyholders. (different from medical injury liability)
• You may be able to negotiate your car’s value if you are being paid in the event of total loss.
• Owing on a loan a larger amount than the vehicle is worth may leave you in debt to the loaning institution in the event of the total loss. This is because claims are paid on vehicle value and not loan balance. Consider GAP coverage to avoid this situation which pays for the remainder of the loan balance.

If you are hit by another car and the collision was not your fault, it is important to be able to prove that it was not your fault. If possible, make a police report so that the details are recorded and witnesses can also provide unbiased statements of what actually occurred. Beware of a common situation where no police reports are made and fault cannot be proven; therefore, the accident fault is spread 50/50 to both parties. This would be unfair because even though you may be the one to be struck by another driver, you may have to seek repairs from your own insurance company or from out-of-pocket.

The normal procedure is that in the event of an accident, the insurers take a statement from each driver and review the information on the police report to determine fault. If there is no report made by police, unbiased witness statements can be golden; there fore, if you are not able to obtain a report, it is helpful to obtain contact information from anyone who witnessed  the accident to help support your statement.

To learn more, visit OnlineAutoInsurance.com’s Learning Center and brush up on your auto insurance knowledge. Also, whether currently insured or not, take advantage of the free online car insurance quotes comparison from multiple companies so that you avoid paying more than you should. Cheap auto insurance is within reach by comparing the rates of top companies.