In Get The Most From Your Auto Insurance part I, we discussed budget, deductibles, and liability. While in part II of Get The Most Out Of Your Car Insurance we touched on holding your costs down with comparison shopping and coverage discounts.
Now let’s move on to some tips on what to do when you need to file a claim.
It’s during the claim process, that having a good agent will become an asset for you.
A good automobile insurance agent will help and guide through the process and help you with dealing with the insurance adjuster especially if you feel the adjuster has come up short and you want to dispute the figure.
Be mindful that although this may not seem a significant nuance, if you have purchased your car insurance coverage via the internet, you may be limited to an 800-number and as such sacrifice personal service at a very stressful time.
It is certainly to your advantage (and stress level) to understand your car insurance company’s claim process before you may have to use it.
The entire process is much less frustrating if you know ahead of time details such as:
Does your company pay for manufacturer brand parts or only generic?
Are you limited by only having specific pre approved body shops do repair work?
If so, are the approved body shops conveniently in your city and throughout the country? If you aren’t sure, make sure your agent fully explains any stipulations that your car insurance policy may have.
If a claim becomes necessary, call your agent as soon as you can after an accident. During the claim process document or journal with names, dates, notes from conversations, emails, receipts, and anything else you discuss or fill out as a result of the claim process.
Stay calm and as proactive and detailed as you can during the process including getting estimates completed.
If you don’t feel as though you got a fair number from an adjuster have them put their findings in documentation form, again, stay calm and work you way up the chain of command with your car insurance company. Have your agent make calls and run interference on your behalf when it comes to dealing with the claims department.
Hopefully you will never have to file a claim against your car insurance policy. But, if you do it is during this time that you’ll find out for sure just how customer oriented your agent and your insurance company is.
Of course, ultimately if you are not impressed with the service you receive; it may be time to do some more shopping around.
