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How Can Insurance Companies Assess Damage After a Car Wreck

Getting the damages assessed on your vehicle, and for your personal injuries is just one step in crash resolution. Getting your damages valued fairly is often a problem because, of course, insurance companies don’t want to payout anything. It doesn’t matter if the at-fault driver’s insurance company is providing the settlement, or if you’re arguing with your provider for collision coverage.

Insurance companies are difficult entities to deal with, so allow someone who has made a career out of handling insurance company tactics to fight against a low-ball assessment. If you’re involved in a wreck, contact our Cincinnati car accident attorneys today.

Property Damage Through Insurance Provided Appraisal

A provided appraisal is what every insurance company guarantees, and it’s because they want to control the value determined for the crash claim. An insurance appraiser will take charge of the valuation of the damage to your property. They’ll take pictures of the extent of the wreckage and compare the value to fix the car versus the blue book value of the vehicle.

But insurance appraisals are a little tricky, and the system that they use may not even accurately represent the damage to your vehicle. They may check for value parts that your mechanic then won’t use, and other sticky situations. Often, they’ll pay to replace a bumper or damaged hood, but not the paint to match the vehicle.

Medical Bills and Damage Valuation

Keep in mind that whenever you’re filing a claim, they will set the value of the damage, and they expect you to pay the deductible. However, the value of the damage and the medical bills will go through a bit of a process as well. For example, when your insurance company receives the medical bill, they’ll begin striking through it to acknowledge what they do and don’t believe was justified.

Things such as whiplash, for example, quickly get written off. So if you had a chiropractic appointment for soft-tissue damage, they might claim that the appointment was unnecessary, so there’s no need for them to cover that cost.

Another tactic they use is to claim that some of the damage was already there. Sure, plenty of people get into accidents and don’t report it to their insurance provider. However, it seems a little far-fetched that you would report one accident and not another. But all the same, insurance companies will frequently claim that they don’t have to cover certain repairs because the damage was there from another crash.

Planning Your Non-Economic Damage Valuation

Often crashes come with non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. You may have missed out on a particular moment, a graduation, or a wedding, because of your injuries. Additionally, you may have lost your joy of driving, or the ability to take your kids to and from school because of the trauma.

During these times, you’ll need to work with a. few different experts who understand the general value applied in these events. Your auto accident attorney may have worked with similar situations before and have a set figure that they’re comfortable fighting for in your demand. It’s important to note all the elements that played a role in your non-economic damages. For example, if you were unable to walk your child down the aisle at their wedding, you might note that they are your only child, and that was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

When your insurance company attempts to undervalue your claim, the best you can do is to bring in a professional. That means that you need to build negotiation tactics and possibilities within your strategy. It is difficult for many to set a value to non-economic damages, but often the value you set will go through extensive negotiations.

Get Support – Call Young, Reverman, and Mazzei, Your Local Cincinnati Car Accident Attorneys

Attorneys do play a critical role in how people resolve car accidents. When you allow the insurance company to issue a check and don’t challenge it, you allow them to take advantage of all of their clients. Anyone who works with an auto insurance group knows that they promise to pay out whatever you need, within the extent of your policy, but that’s not usually the case. You may get a compensation check that barely covers the damage to your car. Don’t let that happen.

Instead, challenge the involved insurance company by showing them the true value of the damages and sticking by your demands. It’s not as simple as proving that your injuries and property damage are extensive. You must not budge unless going to court would become more costly. Call Young, Reverman, and Mazzei for full support through the claim resolution steps.

Jay A. Bolotin is a partner at the injury law firm of Young, Reverman & Bolotin. Serving the people of Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, Jay dedicates his career to helping clients in the tri-state area obtain financial compensation after suffering serious injuries. He focuses his practice on cases involving car accidents, trucking accidents, dog bites and animal attacks, and other types of personal injury incidents.

Years of Experience: More than 25 years
Registration Status:: Active
Bar Admissions: Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Cincinati Bar Association