Insurance companies are known for not giving you the most money for your car accident claim. They try to downplay how severe are your car accident injuries, how badly damaged your vehicle is and who really caused the car crash. The result is that you get paid far less than what your car accident insurance claim is worth.
To get the most money when filing your claim for car accidents, you need to show clearly how the crash happened, what were the damages to your vehicle and how severe were your personal injuries.
Here are 3 ways to get you the most money from your car accident settlements:
1. Take Pictures
In order to make your car accident claim stronger, you should take a lot of pictures at the car accident scene.
Take pictures of:
- Damages to each vehicle, both from inside and outside
- Road signs
- Weather conditions
- Other drivers license plate and vehicle model
- Skid marks and street damages
- Personal Injuries or bruises before they heal
- Position of the vehicles before they are moved
If you have lots of pictures, there is really nothing the insurance company can say to deny how bad your damages are. This will increase your chances of getting more money for your claim.
2. Make a Sketch
You should create a quick sketch on how the car wreck happened. Draw as many details as you can think of that may help you later.
Important things to Draw:
- Direction you and other driver were traveling
- Traffic lights and names of intersections
- Road Obstructions like a fallen tree or hidden stop signs
You don’t need to make an extremely detailed sketch. Just draw the basic things that show how the auto crash happened.
3. Write Detailed Description
You should write down a detailed description about how your car crash happened. Write it on the sketch if it helps you explain the accident.
This is important because car insurance companies really try to change your story about how the crash happened. They don’t want to pay you the maximum amount for your auto accident claim, so they will try to convince you the car wreck was your fault or make suggestions on how you may have caused the crash.
Depending on your damages, claims can take weeks or months to settle. Your memory about the crash will start to fade and you may actually start to believe the accident was minor or your fault.
This is exactly what the insurance companies want. Don’t let them do this.
Take detailed notes on how the accident happened exactly. If someone was with you when the car accident happened, share your notes and see if they are accurate.
Write down:
- What time did the crash happen
- What you were doing
- Where you were going
- Who you were driving with
- How fast you were driving.
If you can, answer the same questions about the other driver.The more details you have the better your chances of getting more money from your car insurance claim.
Added Benefit and Protection:
If you filed a traffic accident report, having pictures, sketches and notes of the auto crash, will back up what you said to the police.
The insurance company uses what the officer puts in the police reports to determine who was at fault for the wreck. They use fault to determine who should get paid and who shouldn’t in your car accident claim.
Unfortunately sometimes the police report doesn’t capture everything or the officer writes down incorrect information which ends up making the crash your fault.
If you don’t have anything else to show the insurance company they will simply rely on the incorrect police report to determine if you should get paid. You can protect yourself if you follow my suggestions.
(Read :How Car Accident Reports Increase Your Auto Insurance Settlements ).
Bottom Line:
Take pictures of your damages, make sketches and write down lots of notes on how the crash happened. It may seem annoying to get so many details but you need to be this thorough to get more money from your car accident claim.
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