Claiming After a Car Accident

Car Insurance Claims Process

If you have been involved in a car accident and suffered personal injury you can often worry about what will happen if you need to make a claim. Will your car be off the road for weeks or will it be written off? Will you have to spend hours completing car insurance claim forms? What will happen to you if you are injured? How long will it take to receive treatment on the NHS? Our guide below sets out how a standard car accident claim might proceed.

Car Accident Claims Summary

Immediately: you should notify your insurance company as soon as possible after an accident
3 Years: you have three years from the date of the accident to make a car accident personal injury claim (longer if under 18 or incapacitated, please ask)
No Charge: using the correct car accident claims company will ensure that you pay nothing and keep all of your compensation

Completion of your Car Insurance Claim Form

Once you have been involved in a car accident one of the first steps you must take is to notify your insurance company (see our free guide for what to do immediately after an accident). They will normally send you an insurance claim form to complete, although many these days will help you to complete this form on the telephone.

What about my car?

If your car has been damaged, you will need to obtain estimates for it's repair. If the car is considered to be beyond economical repair and you have fully comprehensive insurance, your insurance company will advise you of the value of your vehicle. If you believe your vehicle is being undervalued, your 1stClaims solicitor will be able to help you to prove the value of your vehicle. If your car was only covered with third party insurance, and the accident was not your fault, you can recover the value of your car from the other driver's insurance company (or possibly from the Motor Insurers' Bureau if the driver was not insured). If the valuation cannot be agreed your 1stClaims solicitor will be able to instruct an engineer to value your vehicle.

What happens next with my insurance accident claim?

If you have been injured during an accident, you will need an expert personal injury solicitor to help you with your insurance accident claim. Not only will they deal with your insurance company and obtain a copy of any insurance claim forms you have already completed, but they will also contact the other driver's insurance company to start your claim for compensation.

Dealing with your injuries

They will contact the police to obtain a copy of any accident report form and speak to any witnesses who saw the accident. At the same time, if you have been injured they will start to put together the medical evidence which will allow them to assess what treatment might be helpful to you. Often a general practitioner or an orthopaedic surgeon will be asked to prepare a medical report to discover the level of your injuries and advise how long it might take for you to recover. Your 1stClaims solicitor will take care of all of this for you and there is nothing to worry about, only expert medical consultants are used to help you with your claim.

How much will my car accident settlement be?

The value of car insurance claims varies with every claim made. Some parts of the claim will include similar items, but every car accident settlement is made on the basis of that particular claim. There is no standard calculation or formula. The settlement can include compensation for the following items:

The value of your car or the cost of any repairs
Your lost earnings
Expenses including medical costs for treatment, replacement car hire etc (referred to by solicitors as Special Damages)
An award for your injuries (referred to as General Damages)

How long will my accident insurance claim take?

This very much depends on you. If you are severely injured it is not sensible to finish your claim before all opportunities for treatment have been considered as once you receive a car accident settlement that is the end of your claim. Claims can take anything from a few weeks to many months to settle. It really is different for every claim. Your expert 1stClaims solicitor will guide you through the whole process.

Let us put you back on the fast road to recovery.

If you would like 1stClaims expert Whiplash Solicitors on your side please call us free on 0800 2888 693 or complete our Free Claim Enquiry form now and we will be in touch with you very soon.

Remember, it costs nothing to ask and you receive 100% of your compensation.

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