Sometimes, even with the best preventive measures and all safety precautions taken, accidents still happen. If you find yourself in such a position, its best to pick yourself up and find ways to move forward. Moving forward might involve dealing with your insurance agency on issues regarding indemnification, and here are some tips to get the most out of your car accident claims Medford Oregon.
Tip 1: Know Your Car’s Worth
When an accident occurs, the insurance agency either pays for repairs to be made to the car or for it to be replaced (i.e. if the car was totaled). In the case of the latter, insurance agencies will most likely offer an amount lower than the actual price of your car. Knowing your car’s current market worth helps you to be prepared to counter their own offer.
You should also have documents such as mileage records, maintenance records, and a statement from your auto technician that might prove that you deserve more than what any other owner of a typical car such as yours should get.
Tip 2: Understanding the Process
As soon as car accident claims Medford Oregon is filed, the agency assigns a claim adjuster to the client. What the adjuster does is to ascertain the extent of the damages incurred due to the accident, and then propose an amount that would cover the cost of its repairs.
He submits his proposal to the insurance agent who then proposes it to you. If you don’t like the proposed amount, however, you can offer a counter-proposal based on estimates that you might have derived from garages, mechanics, or dealerships that you have consulted.
Tip 3: Don’t Rush It
In the event of a car accident, you’d definitely enter into negotiations with your insurance agency. The trick is not to be hasty with refusing their proposals or making one of your own. Take time to really consider their offer, and if it truly doesn’t meet your needs, you can make a new offer. This proposal-trade will go on until both parties agree on a certain amount.
Note: it helps to have a desired settlement in mind.
Tip 4: Don’t Let Them Get Away with the Betterment Card
In cases where fairly used or old cars are concerned, claims adjuster more often than not play the betterment card. What’s betterment?
Betterment is the use of new parts to repair old cars, thus making the car more valuable. Insurance companies will likely ask you to cover for the excess value or just pay you less after deducting the value themselves. With this card in play, it will be hard for you to make the best car accident claims Medford Oregon. What you can do is have your mechanic prove that the new parts do not in fact increase the value of your car.
Finally, you must know that while you are trying to get the highest payout possible, the insurance agency will be trying to pay out the lowest. As such, they might try to make it look like the accident was more your fault than you claim. To counter this, you must be prepared with as much information as possible. Foremost amongst these are police reports and witness testimonies.
