Comprehensive Insurance and Accident Claims in the UK
Those fortunate drivers who own comprehensive insurance should breathe easily if the event of a motor vehicle accident occurs. They will be well taken care of through their own insurance company as well as that of the other driver, regardless of whether or not the accident is their fault. For those who do have comprehensive insurance, as opposed to third party collision insurance only, you will want to make sure that you get in touch with your insurance provider soon after the accident happens.
The sooner you begin communications with your insurer and report an incident, the sooner you will be able to receive the money from your claim. What will likely happen in the case that the accident is the fault of the other driver is that you will receive compensation from your insurance provider under your comprehensive policy, and then your insurance company will contact the provider of the other driver’s policy and reclaim funding from them. This way, you may be able to get the totality of your claim paid for without even losing your no claims bonus discount which helps keep the payments on your insurance low. Claim money may involve medical bills, physical therapy costs, emergency GP fees, car repair costs or even the cost of a vehicle replacement.
Accident by Jeff Attaway, on Flickr. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
What About Uninsured Losses?
Those expenses that you end up incurring as a result of the accident which are not paid for by your insurance company, even with your comprehensive coverage, are referred to as uninsured losses. If you normally work an office job but are put out of commission temporarily because you are busy dealing with the after effects of this accident, the loss of earnings that you are realizing would fall under the umbrella of uninsured losses. If you would regularly drive the motor vehicle that was in the accident back and forth to work or schooling but now need to hire a car to use in the meantime because of damage incurred to your vehicle, the expense of this car hire would be an uninsured loss. If you are experiencing personal injuries, emotional or mental trauma, or need for emergency therapy or counseling, the costs of these various services would count as uninsured losses, as well.
Fortunately for drivers who were not at fault in the accident in question, you may be eligible to regain some of these uninsured loss costs from the insurance company of the other party. You will want to keep careful records and documentation of any earnings you have lost, car hire expenses, excess physical or emotion injury costs, or miscellaneous losses so that you can add these to the claim amount that you are expecting from the paying insurer.
Witnesses will become particularly helpful when you are trying to get the maximum amount of remuneration from the insurance company of the driver at fault. You may wish to send in documentation of the accident from the witness’ viewpoint, including written and signed statements, photographs, contact information and more. This effort will strengthen your case and help you to gain the most back from your comprehensive coverage insurance policy.
Alexas_Fotos / Pixabay
Why Opt for Comprehensive Insurance
If you can afford the sometimes pricey costs of comprehensive insurance bills, you should consider this level of coverage, as your financial outcome if you are in an accident will be far better than in the scenario of minimum insurance. Keep in mind that if you can score yourself coverage discounts such as no claims bonuses, automatic payment promotions, or other special deals, comprehensive coverage can actually be quite affordable and will save you a bundle in the long run.
