Auto Insurance Settlement Claim Standards

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Most of us buy insurance because the states in which we reside dictate that we must. No one purchases automobile insurance hoping to have to one day use it to settle a claim but if you are in an accident you'll be glad you have it. Sadly, not many people understand auto insurance settlement claim standards and, as such, feel as though the insurance companies are out to get them after an accident occurs. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Know Your Own Coverage

One of the first things you need to do in order to completely understand the claims process is to understand the coverage you purchased originally. Auto insurance settlement claim standards are based solely on what your adjuster can do with the coverage you purchased. Your insurance company will not grant you extra coverage if you didn't purchase enough, which is why you are always encouraged to purchase more than the minimum.

Take a look at your policy and familiarize yourself with the coverage you have purchased. Should you realistically increase your liability limits? Do you need towing and labor coverage? If so, make the changes right away. In most cases it costs less to pay for insurance than it does to pay out of pocket for an accident.

Understand Indemnification

The purpose of insurance is to indemnify you, or make you whole. Indemnification means bringing you back to the point at which you were at before you had your automobile insurance accident and understanding auto insurance settlement claim standards means recognizing this point as reality.

In short, let's say you have an old vehicle worth $3,000 according to the Kelly Blue Book. You don't really need comprehensive and collision coverage but you purchase it and then your car is totaled in an accident. Should your insurance company be responsible for buying you a brand new vehicle or should you get a vehicle worth $3,000? The answer is the latter. You won't get anything more than what you had to begin with so you'll need to figure out how to best spend that $3,000 – either buy buying another used car of similar value or by using it as a deposit towards a newer car and taking responsibility for the balance.

Auto insurance settlement claim standards have been put in place to protect you as a consumer. If you take advantage of the system, asking for payment for things that aren't covered or lying to get payment, you will only add to the instances of insurance fraud that exist today. The more fraud there is in the world, the higher all of our insurance rates will be. Trust the system and let your auto insurance adjuster settle your claim fairly.

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