Always Contact Your Insurance Company Following A Car Wreck
Whenever we initiate a new car wreck case we always contact all insurance companies involved. This obviously includes the insurance company of the at fault driver, but it also includes our client’s insurance company. The reason we contact our client’s insurance company is because there may be additional coverage that applies. For example, our client could have “medical payments” coverage or “underinsured motorist” coverage. Both these coverages are first party coverages that could help pay for personal injuries.
Sometimes, we have clients that are resistant to contacting their insurance companies and using their coverage because they fear that if we use their coverage, even though they are not at fault, their premiums will go up. This is a myth. In Georgia, insurance companies cannot increase your premiums if the car wreck is not your fault. In fact, there is a statute that specifically lays this out. O.C.G.A. 33-9-40 states, “No insurer shall surcharge the premium or rate charged on a policy of motor vehicle insurance or cancel such policy as a result of the insured person’s involvement in a multi-vehicle accident when such person was not at fault in such accident.”
So no matter the circumstances, always contact your insurance company following a wreck.
Tagged with: Car wreck, insurance company, insurance coverage, Medical Payments Coverage, personal injury, underinsured motorist coverage
Posted in: Automobile Wrecks