I was in an accident, my car was damaged but I am unhurt. What can I expect to happen?

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Damage to your vehicle or any personal property, such as a laptop, is called property damage by the insurance companies. If the other accident was the other person’s fault, and they have insurance, then their insurance company should pay for all of your property damage with no deductible paid by you. If they are being too slow and you want to speed the process up you can submit your property damage claim to your own insurance company if you have collision or comprehensive coverage. You will have to pay the deductible, but the other person’s insurance company should reimburse the amount you paid.

If, however, the accident was your fault, then you will have to rely on your own insurance coverage. The kinds of insurance that will cover your property damage claims are collision and comprehensive. If you go through your insurance company when the accident is your fault, then you will have to pay your deductible.

If the accident was the other driver’s fault and they don’t have insurance, then you can bring an un-insured motorist property damage with your insurance company, if you previously purchased this coverage. In this instance the deductible is usually much lower.

If the cost to repair your car is greater than the car’s current fair market value, then the insurance company should consider your car “totaled”. If the insurance company declares your vehicle is totaled, rather than pay for the repair for your vehicle it will give you a check for what it determines it the current fair market value of your car. The amount typically is the market price for the make and model of you vehicle minus an indexed amount for depreciation. This amount is subject to negotiation. The best thing to do is arm yourself with data of similar cars in similar condition and how much they are selling for, or have sold for. If you have recently put money into your car, present those receipts and there should be some level of compensation for that.

Sometimes an insurance company will consider your car totaled even if the cost of repair is less than your car’s value. Typically if the cost to repair is in the 50 – 90% range of your car’s total value the insurance company may deem it a total.

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