Keep Your Ride Looking Smooth

Act Fast After A Collision: Should You Make A Claim?

12 February 2015 by Max Day

If you were recently in an accident and you are worried that your rates are going to go up if you make a claim on your insurance, there are a few things to consider. You want to make sure that the damage is worth the cost of your deductible.

You will have to talk with your insurance company, and you'll want to talk with a local collision repair shop to see what the damage is before you make any decisions. Here are a few things you want to consider.

Determine Fault?

If you backed into something or slid off the road, the collision is your fault. If you were hit by another person, their insurance should cover the cost of the accident. You should have your insurance call their insurance to take care of the damages, so you don't have to pay for anything. The other driver's insurance company may try to talk you into filing your claim with your provider, so they don't have to pay. If you can't prove that the accident was their fault, or if you caused the accident, then you will be forced to choose between paying out of pocket, or paying your deductible.

Find a Collision Expert

Have your vehicle taken to a collision repair shop that does both body and mechanical work. You don't want to have someone tell you one figure, but then they realize there is a lot more damage when they start working on the car. You want to know right away what the cost is going to be to fix the mechanical problems, and the exterior, so you can determine if it's worth making an insurance claim.

If the cost isn't much above the deductible amount stated in your policy, you may not want to file the claim and risk raising your rate. If you can't afford to pay the amount, or you don't want to pull that much out of pocket, move forward and make the claim.

Don't automatically assume you have to pay for an accident if you were in a collision, and make sure that you were at fault before you make an insurance claim. Finding a trusted mechanic to do the work for you ensures that your car is going to be fixed safely, and that you aren't going to run into other concerns after the first initial time you have the vehicle fixed. Collision repair experts are ideal for this type of work. Talk to people like Central Body Co Inc. for more information.

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