Should I file on my own car insurance after a car accident?

 

Atlanta Car Accident Lawyer Shane Smith, An Atlanta Personal Injury Attorney who limits his practice to Car Wrecks, Car Accidents, Personal Injury, Slip and Falls, and Back and Neck Injuries

A:      Sometimes clients wish to file their own insurance. There is nothing wrong with this at all. The only issue is that sometimes your insurance company will require that you pay a deductible until they get it back from the other party's insurance. We generally recommend this route when the defendants' insurance company is claiming that you bear a significant portion of the responsibility of the wreck. If they are claiming this and you agree on their property damage settlement, you could be hurting your personal injury claim. If you file on your own insurance, your insurance company will then subrogate or go after the defendant’s insurance company for the amount they had to pay to fix your car. When and if they collect this amount, they should then refund this deductible to you. This process can take several months.

     If the other person had insurance with one of the more difficult or lower value insurance carriers then I would recommend filing on your own insurance.  If the other side wants to argue that they cannot reach their insured or their insured says something different than the report, then file on your own insurance.

The Law Offices of Shane Smith serves the Metro Atlanta Area including Fulton County, Clayton County, Henry County, Coweta County, Dekalb County, Douglas County, Muscogee County, Baldwin County, Clarke County, Gwinnett County, Spalding County, Fayette County, Paulding County, Cherokee County, Chattahoochee County, Marion County and Harris County.