I handle personal injury cases only. Most of my clients live in or around Atlanta, Georgia. I usually do not take on property damage only claims - but I often counsel my injury clients about how to settle those claims. This series of posts is for everybody, whether you were injured or not, who needs guidance on how to handle a Georgia vehicle damage claim.
You might think it is simple to settle such a claim. And sometimes it is. But I am going to talk about some of the pitfalls and nuances that can come up in the context of these claims and make it a real bugbear. Hopefully you can take any knowledge you glean from me and achieve the best possible settlement - forewarned is forearmed!
I am going to assume that those reading this have a heap of twisted metal for a vehicle - your car or truck has been in a crash and didn't come through it so well. It might still run and it might not. Either way you need help and need help in a hurry - since everybody needs transportation.
First things first. Make sure you know which set of deep pockets to turn to - make a determination which insurance company is responsible. You may have a choice of deep pockets, particularly if you have collision coverage and had no fault for the accident. In that happy event you can choose to turn to the at-fault driver's insurance company (Liability Carrier) or turn to your own automobile insurance company (assuming for the moment you carried collision coverage).
Speaking of collision coverage, let me talk for a moment about what that pays for. Collision coverage is what insurance insiders call "first party" coverage - it pays you in the event of a damage claim. So called "third-party" coverage pays others in the event you cause damage to them or their property. A classic example of "third party" coverage is your liability coverage - it pays people you injure.
Collision coverage protects you in the event your car or truck is damaged, even if you were at fault. So if you look down to read a text message and look back up just in time to see the front of your car smashing into the rear of another car, you might
have occasion to use your collision coverage. No one else is going to help you out.
Next time I blog I will get a little deeper into some of the pitfalls and snares you want to avoid with property damage claims.
