Car insurance can be a pesky cost to have, especially if you are accident-prone or if you have a history of crashes. Some people take out fairly expensive policies to cover all sorts of damage to both their vehicles and their bodies, while others are happy with basic collision coverage. There are some companies that will jack up the premiums of your insurance policy after an accident, which leaves some with no choice but to cancel. However, there are usually questions about what happens to your insurance claim if you cancel your auto insurance in the middle of a dispute.
Canceling a Claim
The short answer is: nothing happens. Your existing insurance claim does not get affected by your cancellation of your auto insurance. The company that you were working with will handle your claim until it is settled, resolved, or tossed out. Generally, you will find it easier to collect compensation from an insurance agency if the only damages were to your vehicle. This collision damage estimate is usually provided by a mechanic’s evaluation; these claims are generally small and do not require a lot of negotiation.
However, if you have sustained some kind of injury, you may find it much more difficult to receive the compensation you deserve. This is because insurance agencies are likely to throw out and argue over claims that have room for interpretation. If you were hurt, they can claim that you were not as badly damaged in the accident as doctors say, or that your injuries were actually caused by another factor. They may even say that you are making up the injuries in the first place. Further, if you cancel your insurance policy, the agents are likely to be even less inclined to settle; they may view you as a lost customer anyway and will have no incentive to quickly work to handle your claim.
However, you may not cancel your insurance policy and resubmit your claim to your new provider because you are unsatisfied with the way your old agent was handling your claim. If you file multiple claims with different insurance companies, you can be charged with fraud.
Accident Procedure
In order to guarantee that you receive the fairest treatment from your insurance agency, you should make sure that you take the following steps after an accident.
First, you should seek medical assistance if you were injured, or go to the emergency room for treatment. Even if you believe you weren’t harmed, you should still get treatment from the paramedics; they may find something wrong with you that you do not feel because of the adrenaline. Getting quick medical treatment is important for your insurance claim, otherwise you may not be able to prove that your injuries were the result of the accident.
You should also take photographs of the accident and the injuries you sustained. This will help show who was at fault, the damages that resulted from the incident, and more. If any eyewitnesses were present, you could collect their statements as well. Police reports and medical notes may also be taken into consideration and submitted as evidence.
Next, you should collect the personal information and insurance details of the other individual involved in the crash. This is important, as your insurance agency may offer coverage if the opposing driver were uninsured or underinsured.
Finally, submit your information and claim to your insurance agent. It doesn’t hurt to follow up to see the progress of your claim within a few weeks, but if you discover that your insurance agency is not handling things to your liking, you should consider switching to a different provider once your claim has been dealt with.
Finding a New Provider
One of the issues with canceling your current insurance policy and searching for a new provider is the presence of your open claim. Some companies view an open claim as an indicator of a risk and will not sign you up, in the same way that a history of accidents may make a company deny you. Ideally, you will wait until your claim is resolved before you drop your insurance provider and seek out a new one, but with surging costs after an accident, you may not be able to afford staying.
Need More Help?
If you find yourself confused and uncertain of how to proceed in the aftermath of an accident and want help dealing with an insurance claim, you should reach out to our law group in Los Angeles, Normandie Law Firm. We will provide you with a free legal consultation and help you through your insurance claim. If you find yourself in a dispute, we will do all we can to bring you the compensation you deserve, including coverage for medical expenses, lost income, damaged property, pain and suffering, and more.
If you are worried about your finances, fear not: our zero fee guarantee promises that you will pay no out of pocket expenses for our services. We do not get paid unless we win your claim, and the fees are taken from the settlement we bring you. Otherwise, we get no payment at all, and you walk away with no losses at all.
Get in touch with an expert attorney at Normandie Law Firm today to learn more about your insurance options.
