A car accident can be agonizing on both financial and personal fronts. In addition, many people end up sustaining severe disabilities from these accidents. While everyone recommends safe driving practices, car and personal injury insurance can prove fruitful in dire situations.
Personal injury insurance covers the costs of treating injuries sustained in an accident. In this article, we would discuss how you could file a personal injury claim in case of an accident. To get a grasp on how insurance claims work and the insurance plans available to Albertans, check out this page for more insights.
Be Prompt About Reporting Your Insurer
Report the accident to your insurance agent or broker immediately for your insurer to take prompt action. If you cannot inform your insurer right away, try informing them within seven days of the accident. Delaying the report can lead to insurers denying the claim as you need to provide current proof alongside your claim application. Not to forget, reporting within seven days is mandatory regardless of who is at fault.
Collect Legitimate Facts to Build Your Application Case
Injury claims from car accidents need firm proof so that your broker or insurance agent can fast-track the compensation. Find the information mentioned below::
- The policy number and insurance company of the 3rd party in the accident
- Car details, registration number, name, and the vehicle model’s year
- A summarized explanation of the physical injuries from the accident
- The incident’s location, date, and time
- Proof of injury from images and videos or description
- Vehicle’s identity number if a car had hit your vehicle
These are crucial details that you need to file your claim. Double-check this information before presenting to make sure that no errors can hamper the claim.
Get A Good Lawyer
Managing an accident claim settlement without the necessary inside knowledge is complex and poses the risk of underpayment of coverage. Insurance companies give their best in the investigation. After all, no insurer wants to be the one to pay for the losses. A lawyer can help you navigate this situation.
How Does the Claim Filing Work?
As the insurance company’s customer, you shall have an assigned claims adjuster. The claim adjuster will contact you to handle the application. The process can generally be carried out both in-person as well as over the phone.
When going through the details, ask them about the Proof of Loss form. It is a claim form that you shall need to fill to support your claim of physical injury.
After providing sufficient information, the claims adjuster can check how much of the application is under the insurer’s coverage. They can hence calculate the extent of claim you can receive from your policy.
An Insurer’s Steps to Assess the Fault
During an accident, either one party or all parties at the incident are at fault. According to an insurer, a person can either be completely at fault or partially. It is up to the insurer to determine the degree of fault that each person is accountable for at the scene of a car accident.
The Fault Determination Rules, which fall under the Insurance Act, helps to determine the at-fault person in an insurance claim. These rules exist to help insurance companies trace the most at-fault party and determine the claim handling process.
An insurance company takes the following steps to use the Fault Determination Rules to make their decisions:
- They take into account all weather conditions at the time of the accident. Snowstorm visibility issues, level of impact between two cars, etc., are to name a few. However, these are not regarded as issues or causes for the accident right away.
- The company covers over 40 possible accident situations that could have taken place. The determination process factors in diagram-formats which visualize the different possibilities leading to the accident.
When one scenario fits your narrative, the company uses it to allocate the fault, which is crucial to assessing the coverage the claimer needs.
In this scenario, companies usually do not consider police charges to be the ultimate truth. For example, the police might find no parties at fault for a collision during a foggy thunderstorm. However, an insurance firm will utilize Fault Determination Rules to state that the car rear-ended and the vehicle in front is at fault. The process requires professional insurance agents, claim adjusters, and experts to determine the result.
How to Apply for Accident Benefits
Your claim adjuster can help you apply for accident benefits. You can ask them for the Accident Benefits Application Package. There are five forms present in this package, namely:
- Application for Accident Benefits (OCF-1)
- Employer’s Confirmation of Income (OCF-2)
- Disability Certificate (OCF-3)
- Permission to Disclose Health Information (OCF-5)
- Treatment Confirmation Form (OCF-23)
Make sure you fill out all sections of each form in order. That way, you will know that your forms will go through proper processing. There are some ways to fill your forms with no errors to claim your Accident Benefits:
- Re-check your forms before submitting them to see if you have missed out on any portions. Do this for every form before submitting them.
- If you have your health practitioner signing any part of a form, make sure they do it on time so you can submit them properly.
- Write the dates on each form and sign them properly.
Endnote
Personal and physical injuries can cost a fortune in the form of medical expenses. An ordinary person cannot be expected to fill out complex forms and follow the intricate claims process. The agony of injuries sustained would add to your hassles. Thus, professional guidance is critical while making a claim.
It is also imperative to obtain an understanding of the claims process while purchasing the policy to avoid any problems in the future.
