Hi everyone,
I hope someone can shed some light on what typically happens when insurance is involved because I want to understand more about the process. I accidentally scratched someone's car while backing out and since we couldn't reach an agreement to settle privately, we decided to resort to insurance. They will be contacting their insurance, but usually what happens afterwards? Would I need to tell my insurance as well? I've read that once they have reported it, someone will contact me to get my side of what happened – is this true?
I am concerned that only their side of the story will be considered in the claim assessment and I will end up being at fault for more damage than what I did (and what actually happened). If someone can explain what I should expect and what usually happens in this process, I would greatly appreciate it.
What happens after someone reports to their insurance and what to expect?
byu/Winter_Connection588 inInsurance
Posted by Winter_Connection588
4 Comments
File a claim with your insurance company. Give them a recording statement, give them any photos you took, give them location, and give them the other parties information as well.
They’re here to protect you. They’ll pay what is owed. If you have collision, you don’t need to pursue it, and you won’t have to pay your deductible.
ETA: never settle outside insurance
They report it to their insurer and give their side of the story
Their insurer approves payment if it “makes sense” and pays to repair their vehicle
Later, they are going to attempt to bill you for the damages they paid on your behalf. How they attempt to bill you (lawsuit vs collections agency vs asking nicely) depends on the amount of damage and how much proof they have. Here, your insurer fights for you IF they have your side of the story
“We acknowledge that our policyholder caused X damage, but you’re attempting to collect Y so we’re only going to pay X. Your proof of Y is not convincing and we would win if it went to court”
Get in front of it and call your insurer in the near future to tell your side of the story
If there’s a dispute, they’ll go to arbitration behind the scenes and handle it between each other
again, don’t wait around to let this happen to you – give your side of the story BEFORE this happens so your insurer can properly defend you
> They will be contacting their insurance, but usually what happens afterwards?
Assuming the claim exceeds their deductible their insurer will pay them, and then call you up and demand reimbursement. At that point you refer them to your insurer. It doesn’t hurt to give your insurer a heads-up by reporting it and giving them the other person’s info. Your insurer will probably want a statement from you about what happened. Assuming there’s no dispute about fault, or about the amount of the damages, your insurer reimburses the other insurer and that’s it. On a personal auto policy you shouldn’t have any deductible to pay as that only applies to the damages to *your own* car. Your liability insurance pays every dollar claim *against* you unless you somehow have a claim against you that’s higher than the amount of insurance you paid for.
If the other person goes to their own insurer and either doesn’t have collision insurance, or they do but it doesn’t exceed their deductible, then they’ll come back to you again. You can refer them to your insurer to deal with them directly. Same rules on payment apply. You need to cooperate in your insurer’s investigation of the facts, but it’s essentially your insurer’s problem at that point, and not yours.
> I am concerned that only their side of the story will be considered in the claim assessment and I will end up being at fault for more damage than what I did (and what actually happened).
Your insurer probably isn’t going to just pay this person (without talking to you first), based solely on the other person’s description/claim, unless you became mentally challenged or dead since the accident.
If you are not planning to repair your vehicle, then there is no need to open a claim with your insurance at this time. If their insurance decides to subrogate to your policy, a claim would be opened at that time and your carrier will reach out to you for your statement, then make a decision if they would like to accept the fault.