PROPERTY DAMAGE

• Auto Damage - What is your car worth?

 Insurance companies are obligated to repair or replace your car, at their option:

If your car is totaled, then your loss is equal to your car's market value. The insurance company will replace your car by paying you money equal to market value. Market value is measured by blue book values, the sale price of similar cars, etc.

If your car can be repaired, for less than its market value, the repair is the insurance company’s likely choice. Get a good shop to do the work and do not sign off on it until you are happy with the repair job. If you wish, you can get your money and not repair your car.

              Do you get full value? If your car has $10,000 in damages, will you get paid $10,000?

-         What type of insurance are you trying to collect under?

-   Your collision policy. You can collect all of your auto loss, minus your deductible.

-   The other person's liability policy. You can collect all of your auto losses minus your percent of fault. (See also FAULT)

-         Questions of value. In general a car is insured for market value. Not what you paid for it. Not what you put into it. Not for what you still owe. Market value is measured by sales of similar cars and blue book value – adjusted slightly for condition.

-         Who owns your car? Some people own their car. Some people don’t, rather the bank owns it and has a lien so these persons just make the payments. If the car is owned by the bank and it’s totaled, the bank gets paid first, and you get paid your equity second. If you owe more on your car than it’s worth, then you are underwater with it. If you total an underwater car, you lose the car plus you owe your bank the difference between what you get and what you owe.

What else needs to be done? Get a good set of pictures that will help prove your case, before you let the evidence disappear.

• Towing & Storage

Towing and storage are part of a property damage claim. Be careful of storage fees because they can add up quickly. The responsible party is generally liable for towing and continued storage until they make a reasonable offer for your car.

• Rental Vehicle

You are entitled to a rental vehicle from the date of the accident until the insurance company makes a fair offer to repair or replace your vehicle.

• Neighborhood and/or Personal Property Damage

The property damage liability insurance of the responsible party pays the fault free victim and the neighborhood for their losses.

BODILY INJURY

Medical care for bodily injury is essential. You are entitled to have reasonable and necessary medical care paid for in the final settlement. However, most doctors expect timely payment of medical bills. Use your auto insurance personal injury protection (PIP) coverage or medical pay coverage, if available, to keep the medical bills current. Otherwise, use your health insurance policy, the other driver’s insurance, cash, or have your attorney arrange a medical lien with the doctor to defer payment.

If you fail to get needed medical care, both your health and the value of your claim will suffer. Get in the habit of advising the doctor of your problems each time you see him. Insurance companies evaluate claims based on medical records.

INJURED PASSENGERS

• If you are an injured passenger, unless the accident is somehow your fault, you have a claim against someone. It might be your driver, it might be the other driver, it might be both. It depends upon who was at fault. You may even have a claim against your own policy if the at fault driver(s) are underinsured. Which policy to chase, whether or not you want to sue a friend are decisions you should make. You may wish to consult with an attorney.
• If you are the driver and have an injured passenger, they do have a claim against you, if you were in any way at fault.

WAGE LOSS

With proper documentation by both your doctor and your employer, you may be entitled to past and future wage losses, at final settlement. In addition, PIP coverage can make partial wage loss payments to you while you are recovering.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

There is a time deadline within which you must settle or file a lawsuit, or you will lose your claim. It is called the statute of limitations. Its length varies among states and by type of claim. For accident and injury claims caused by negligence, in Washington State, the statute of limitations is usually three years. Intentional injuries, in Washington State, usually have a two-year statute. Job injuries, in Washington State, usually have a one-year statute of limitations. Other claims will have other deadlines. Get specific legal advice about your particular time deadlines. Wait too long and you will lose your rights.

LEGAL ADVICE

What is a fair settlement for injuries, pain and suffering, inconvenience, and a lifetime disability? Do you know how much to ask for? How do you get the insurance company to take you seriously?

You should get answers to these and all of your accident questions from attorneys who have answered these questions many times before. You do not have to hire an attorney to settle your claim. However, the insurance company is unlikely to fairly compensate you unless you do. An experienced personal injury attorney will often obtain substantially more for you even after fees and costs are paid than the insurance adjuster would ever offer you.

Legal fees can be hourly or contingent. Contingent means that payment would depend upon the outcome of the case. Fees would be a percent of recovery, and no recovery, means no fee. Costs are extra and should be discussed with the attorney. Most personal injury cases are settled without going to trial.

Your duties at the accident scene include: safely stopping your car, exchanging information, and rendering assistance to the injured. Within 24 hours of an injury accident, the law requires that you file a Motor Vehicle Collision Report.

FAULT

Sometimes the fault for an auto accident clearly rests with one party, as in a typical rear-end collision. In other cases, fault for an accident may be apportioned between responsible parties on a comparative-negligence basis. You get paid in proportion to how fault free you are. This means that if you are 30% at fault, then you would hope to be paid for 70% of your damages and you would owe the other party for 30% of their damages.

Investigate your claim completely: take photos, gather physical evidence, send for police reports, consult with an expert, and take witness statements. If fault might be questioned in your case, be sure you can prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, your version of how the accident happened. If you need legal help, call an attorney.

INSURANCE

• Good News: Insurance companies are in business to pay money to injured persons. Look for all available policies which may apply. Depending on the facts and the insurance policy in question, insurance may protect the policy owner, drivers with permission, passengers, family members, victims, and others. Many auto policies contain some or all of the following coverage:

• Medical Payments;
• PIP/Personal Injury Protection: No fault medical and wage loss payments;
• Liability: Pays for the victim’s losses, where the insured or covered person is at fault;
• Collision: Covers damage to the insured’s auto, without regard to fault;
• Comprehensive: Covers auto damage not covered by collision insurance;
• UM/UIM: Provides coverage to an insured or covered person who is in a collision with an underinsured motorist;
• Excess/Umbrella: Provides an extra layer of insurance coverage, if there is not enough underlying insurance to compensate the injured.
• Other insurance: Health insurance and other policies may apply on a secondary basis in situations where the primary coverage is maxed or never existed.

• Bad News: Most insurance adjusters consider it their job to pressure or charm you into settling too early and for less than a fair amount. It is the insurance adjuster’s job to build a case against you, and they will actually ask you to help them do this. Be wary if they want a recorded statement or ask you to sign their forms. They are looking for information to use against you. They can, and often will, hire private investigators to spy on injured persons. They hire good attorneys. Every time they talk with you, they are evaluating your injuries. If they offer you money soon after the accident for your personal injuries, chances are that your claim is worth substantially more. If your insurance company demands subrogation (return of their money when you settle with the other insurance company), watch out. Unscrupulous insurance adjusters are the number one reason injured persons hire attorneys.

• Deductibles are the amount of insurance coverage you don't get on claims again your own policy. Usually this is the amount you pay to the repair company or the doctor.
• Full Coverage: Full coverage is a joke. It is a misleading term that shouldn’t be applied to insurance, because many persons who say they have full coverage really don't know what they are saying. It is best to talk in terms of the type and amount of coverage. For example, I have $100,000 worth of liability coverage, $50,000 UIM, and $35,000 PIP.
• Subrogation is the right of an insurance company who has paid you to recover their money back. This can reduce your monitary recovery.

• No Insurance

• Me: Driving without insurance is a crime, but if you didn't get a ticket and are clearly not at fault then no worries this time.
• Them: if the other driver is at fault and has no insurance then they need to have lots of assets or you need to have UIM coverage, otherwise your case may be wrothless. 
• Drivers License suspension. In Washington State, if the at fault dirver injured someone or caused at least $700 in damages and is uninsured, then the injured person can have the DOL suspend their drivers license. If there's no insurance, no assets, and you don't have UIM coverage of your own, then make that at fault driver ride the bus until they figure out how to pay you.  WA STATE LICENSING: LICENSE SUSPENSIONS - FAILURE TO PAY ACCIDENT DAMAGES

• Understanding insurance:

Insurance coverage is deailed and tricky. Click here if you would like us to mail you a free brochure titled Understanding Your Auto Insurance. The brochure takes the mystery out of insurance terminology.

WHAT IF I GET A TICKET?

Sign the ticket, decide what you're going to do - pay or fight -, and understand the difference between criminial and civil law.

• Criminal law - Tickets are written by the police for infractions or violation of criminial statutes. They are a matter between you and the police.
• Civil law - Does not involve traffic tickets. Civil law is used to sue a person who has injured you. It generally does not involve the police, although if called they may write a report which will be of some interest to both sides.

One accident can involve both criminial and civil law. For example if someone rearends you, they may get a ticket from the police for violating a traffic law - and that ticket is handled in the criminal courts. Also, you may sue them in civil court for your losses in that same accident.

Here's why it makes a difference. Some things that happen in criminal court can sometimes be used in civil court, some cannot.

• If you pay the ticket or otherwise plead guilty the other party can use this against you in a civil case.
• If you fight the ticket and lose, this can be used against you in a civil suit.
• If you plead "nolo contendere" and pay the ticket this cannot be used against you in a civil case.
• If you fight the ticket and win then this can be used in the civil case.

WHAT IF SOMEONE SUES ME?

Your insurance policy obligates you to inform your insurance company if you are sued because of an auto accident. Do it! They will provide you with an attorney, but only up to the limits of your liability policy. Their attorney will not help with traffic tickets.