Do you have to report a minor car accident to your insurance provider? Most drivers would prefer not to. Reporting these accidents can see your premiums increase, even if you benefit from some of your plan’s immediate protections. If you can avoid those upcharges, shouldn’t you avoid reporting your accident?
No, you shouldn’t. It’s always in your best interest to report a car accident, minor or otherwise, to your insurance provider. The sooner you take action, the sooner you can get the support you need to recover. What’s more, you can begin to take steps to prevent a liable party from misrepresenting your accident to other parties.
You can work with a Los Angeles car accident attorney to fill out the necessary paperwork and protect yourself from an insurance provider’s attempts to act in bad faith.
When to Reach Out to an Insurance Provider
Most insurance providers expect you to get in touch with them within two days of your car accident. It’s in your best interest to get in touch with your provider before those two days pass so you can schedule an insurance claims adjuster’s assessment of your damage.
You can emphasize, in these initial conversations, that your car didn’t suffer a lot of damage in an accident. That said, an insurance claims adjuster may still come out to your property to conduct a more thorough assessment of your losses. You can have an attorney on-site throughout these assessments to ensure that the process proceeds accordingly.
Some insurance adjusters may additionally argue that the damage done to your car is so insubstantial that their company may not cover its repairs. Don’t let these parties get away with denying you the coverage you pay for. If your claim gets wrongfully denied, our attorneys can help you appeal. We can even take a car insurance provider to court if necessary.
What to Expect From Insurance Claims Adjusters
Insurance claims adjusters primarily work as the arms of their company. This means that while these parties can be personable, they tend to prioritize their company’s budget over your well-being. Some insurance claims adjusters may attempt to act in bad faith to deny you some of the coverage you deserve, even after a minor car accident.
If you suspect that an insurance claims adjuster may be misrepresenting your losses or otherwise disregarding your case, you can let a car accident lawyer know. The team with Simmrin Law Group can then step in and oversee your interactions with these parties.
If the need arises, we can intervene in the investigative process. We can even sue an insurance claims adjuster or company that refuses to give your case the attention that it deserves.
For a free legal consultation, call (626) 709-2523
The Benefits of Reporting a Minor Car Accident
If working with an insurance claims adjuster can prove so perilous, and reporting an accident can raise your premiums, why should you file an accident report with your insurance provider?
If you don’t file an insurance report after your car accident claim, you may not receive coverage for your losses. Even if you aren’t contending with severe losses, that support can allow you to resume day-to-day life with little to no change in your financial standing.
Likewise, you may leave yourself vulnerable to legal action taken by the party liable for your losses. These parties can misrepresent the nature of your accident to make themselves look like they bear less of the blame.
Filing an insurance report allows you to establish your side of the story in conversations about your accident. When you have a record of your losses written down and saved, it becomes more difficult for liable parties to deny the nature and value of your losses.
When to Call a Car Accident Lawyer
You have the right to take legal action against the party liable for your accident or, when applicable, a bad faith insurance provider within two years of your initial crash. You can learn more about this time limit courtesy of California’s personal injury statute of limitations, California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.
You can contact a car accident lawyer at any point within that two-year period. Your right to legal action expires when your statute of limitations expires. In other words, if you don’t take action within the state’s statute of limitations, you may lose your right to accident compensation as won through the civil system.
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Simmrin Law Group Stands With You After All Kinds of Accidents
You can generally count on an insurance provider to protect you from the financial stress that tends to come with a car accident. That said, most insurance providers expect you to act on their terms if you want to receive support. Interacting with providers and insurance claims representatives can subsequently prove challenging if you don’t have professional help.
Fortunately, Simmrin Law Group’s car accident lawyers are here to help. You can reach out to our team at any point following an accident for help communicating with your insurance company. Our team can step in and prevent an insurance provider from acting in bad faith.
Book your free car accident case evaluation ASAP.
Call or text (626) 709-2523 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form