If your car is damaged after an accident, who pays for necessary car repairs? What first steps should you take? The answers will depend on who was at fault for the accident, and what type of car insurance coverage you have. This article explains your car repair options, so you can make an informed choice about how to proceed after the accident.
Who Pays to Get the Car Fixed?
In the vast majority of states, the party who was responsible for causing the car accident must pay for any necessary repairs — everything from minor scratches to major body work. This is why drivers are required to buy liability insurance for registered vehicles. After a car accident, liability insurance kicks in to make sure that car repair bills gets paid. This means if someone else was responsible for your accident, that person’s insurer should pay for your claim.
But what if you were responsible for the car accident? In that case, you probably have no one to turn to but your own insurer. If you didn’t purchase collision coverage for your vehicle when you bought your insurance policy, you’ll probably find yourself with few options, and you’ll have to pay all of your bills out-of-pocket.
This is another reason why it’s so important to make sure you collect evidence at the scene of the accident — including police reports, witness statement, and photographs. If the accident wasn’t your fault, and you can prove it, that’s the best way to avoid worrying about whether your own insurance coverage will cover the accident.
The 3 Standard Ways to Repair your Car after an Auto Accident
Having some idea of who is going to pay the bills is a good starting point, but the next key thing you’ll need to decide is how to actually get the repairs made. Most people need to have a car and cannot wait for months until the insurance investigator or adjuster determines who was responsible for the accident, determines how much to pay, and actually cuts the check. So, carefully consider your options when it comes to car repair. It usually comes down to these three:
Pay out of pocket and seek reimbursement: This is usually the fastest way to get things done, but be careful. If the insurance adjuster determines that you overpaid for the repairs, the work may not be fully covered (this may occur more often when drivers have their repair bills paid by their own insurer under a collision coverage policy). One more caveat: if the other driver puts up an argument on issues like fault for the accident or the extent of damage to your vehicle, then you could be in store for a long wait before you’re reimbursed — if you’re reimbursed at all.
Set up a claim and inspection so insurance will pay: There are three steps here: the inspection, the assessment of damages, and (hopefully) the payment. But the process could take a while to play out. If you have rental car insurance coverage, then the waiting period may not be such a big deal, since you can drive the rental while the inspection and assessment is going on. But rental car reimbursement usually only lasts for a certain period of time. If you don’t have rental coverage or if the coverage runs out, you can find yourself without a vehicle as you wait months for the process to complete.
Get the other driver to pay at your repair shop, without going through insurance: This can be a good option for more minor repairs, but it can be risky to choose not to report claims to the insurance company. You may realize later on that your car actually suffered greater damage than the initial damage estimate showed, and you’ll probably have a harder time making a claim if the insurer company weren’t notified about the accident right away. Still, this is an easy and straightforward way to get the repairs done, provided the other party can pay and actually does write the check.
Getting Help
Following proper protocol after a car accident can get tricky — especially if claims get complex and multiple insurance companies are involved. You may want to speak with an experienced attorney to understand your options and the best course of action for getting your car fixed and back on the road.