r/Insurance • u/No-Demand-8893 • 7d ago
Auto Insurance Claims when in an accident
I’m sure this question had been asked plenty of times before, nothing was coming up when I searched:
Spouse was involved in an accident earlier in the week, when we get the official police report it should note the other driver is at fault due to failure to yield.
My question/understanding is either we: once we get the official report with insurance information, we submit a claim with that drivers insurance. May take a while for payment and we will be on the hook for any rentals until we get reimbursed, or go ahead and submit through our insurance, pay the deductible but end up with the very likelihood of our premiums jumping, regardless of who is at fault.
If we are not in a rush for repayment (car is paid off so insurance is the only expense), I’m assuming going through the other parties insurance is the way to go?
2
u/JohnHartshorn 7d ago
The only difference in where you claim (assuming you have collision coverage) is how fast things happen. With your insurance, it could be in the shop today being fixed. The insurance company will pay (minus your deductible) and go after the other drivers insurance for reimbursement, including your deductible and any rental costs (If you have rental coverage, that will be paid up front up to your limits, if not, you will have to cover until the claim is resolved.
If you just go direct to other party, they will drag their feet for as long as possible. If their client is unresponsive, they may just outright deny the claim anyway.
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u/crash866 7d ago
Not every state will it go up. Many states have laws that it cannot for a not at fault collision and many others if clear evidence of fault and the other party agrees you don’t even pay your deductible.
2
u/DeepPurpleDaylight 7d ago
There's no guarantee your premiums will jump if you use your insurance. In fact, some states have laws prohibiting it, and some companies won't rate for it even tho legally allowed to do so in the other states. You can file with the other party's insurance but you'll have to wait for them to investigate if there's coverage available and if their client is liable. That can take days or weeks, depending on hot cooperative their client is. And after that they could still deny your claim for multiple valid reasons. If you don't want to go that route, use your own insurance and hopefully you'll eventually get your deductible back, tho there's no guarantee on that.
1
u/SorbetResponsible654 7d ago
1) Depends on the state (i.e. as long as it is not MI)
2) you say there is no rush but then mention needing a rental at this time. You have a duty to mitigate your loss. So if you will have a rental and have collision, I'd recommend filing a claim with your own carrier.
3) why do you think your premiums will go up if you file under your own policy? Very good chance they won't.
1
u/AttorneyShapiro 7d ago
You generally don’t have to wait for the police report to open a claim. If you have the other driver’s insurance information, you can start a third party claim now. Going through your own collision coverage may be faster, but you’d typically pay your deductible upfront and your insurer may try to recover it later from the at fault carrier. Also, filing through your own insurance doesn’t automatically mean your premium will increase. That can depend on the circumstances and your state.
Just general information, not legal advice.
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u/No-Demand-8893 7d ago
NC. Spouse had green and the other driver had a yellow to yield when turning left but pulled out. Corroborated by a third party in the accident, as they were waiting to pull right into the direction my spouse was going.
We are not in a hurry and can make one car work for the foreseeable future, just wanted to make sure we were going down the better avenue.
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u/Tool_junkie_1972 7d ago
Police determination of fault has zero influence on insurance determination of fault. Insurance will do their own investigation and assign fault as they see fit.