A client called me a couple of weeks ago. He’d been rear-ended by another person who said he had car insurance, but he didn’t. Their car insurance had been cancelled due to non-payment which meant my client had to file a car insurance claim on his policy where someone else was clearly at fault. This type of claim is referred to as an uninsured motorist claim.
I received a call from a client last year. She’d been in an accident and like most people I’ve worked with, wanted to know what to do. I confirmed she was not physically hurt, we reviewed what had happened, provided her with her car insurance policy number and the phone number for claims, then outlined a plan on how to best proceed. She drives a Lexus RX series so she had the car delivered to the shop of her choice which she gets to do according to Texas state law.
“Will a claim cause my car insurance rate to increase? “ This is one of the most frequently asked questions I hear when talking with a client about an accident. The short answer is yes. I don’t always know how much of an impact an insurance claim will have on any person’s specific renewal premium, but claims do have an impact on their rate.
John Hooper’s story hit the internet last week. He was the proud owner of a 580 horse power 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. John took his Camaro to the local dealership, First State Chevy in Georgetown, Delaware, for warranty work on an issue with the car’s paint. One of the dealership’s employees took his car for an unauthorized joy ride on a Sunday in December when the dealer was closed.
The Dallas Morning News published an article in February 2010 of insurance don’ts that I filed away because it’s worthy of being repeated. This list applies to both car and home insurance claims, so let’s take a look at 7 things to avoid doing.
Several months ago, a friend of mine called. Tom, not his real name, and his buddy had traveled to San Antonio for a guy’s trip a couple of weekends earlier. Tom drove through a construction zone where there was a lane shift followed by a traffic light. Based on the location of the light, he mistakenly thought he was supposed to stop about 40 yards away. He ended up passing through the intersection and was struck by a car that had a green light. It was his fault.
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