No matter how attentive and careful a driver you are, you probably will eventually make a mistake while driving. If this mistake leads to an accident and you are at fault, what are you supposed to do? The process of handling a claim when you are not at fault often seems much more straightforward, but what do you do if you were in a crash and it was your fault and you are responsible for any damage that might have happened? Here is the process:
Deciding Who Is Legally at Fault
While you might be fault, you know you are at fault, and the other driver or drivers know you are at fault, your insurance company will likely still need to make its own decisions about whether or not you were at fault and, specifically, just how “at fault” you were. What does that mean? It means that there are some situations in which the fault is not entirely your own. You may have run a stop sign, but if the car you struck did not have its lights on while driving at night, it is not entirely your fault that you struck that vehicle, which you may not have struck, had it been visible in the dark.
This will require a little bit of investigation—looking at the police reports, at the statements of any witnesses, etc. It is still important that you do not admit to being at fault while at the scene, as this could lead to you taking on the full brunt of the responsibility, even if the accident was really only 50% your fault.
If you weren’t at fault, check out our recent article on What happens to your rates if you were not at fault in an accident, here.
Coverage Kicks In
Once your car insurance company has decided who is at fault and to what degree, coverage will kick in. Liability coverage is the most common and it is important to remember that it covers only the other people in the accident. It does not pay for your own expenses, either of the medical or automotive repair variety.
While the other party in an accident does have the possibility of bringing a lawsuit against you, your insurance company will not leave you high and dry. If the accident was covered by your insurance, they will usually also provide you with defense. Your rates will usually also increase, but by how much will depend on your specific insurance provider.
