Were you involved in an accident and you want to know whose property damage insurance you should use after a car accident? Check out this short video to find out.

Hey everyone Barry here with the LawFull channel. I’m a personal injury lawyer and my goal is to provide as much free legal advice as possible on car and other motor vehicle accidents.

If you need some help with your claim, email me at [email protected].

0:00 Introduction
1:04 Should you use your own property damage coverage to pay for your property damage
1:34 Using your own insurance will get the property damage fixed quicker
2:40 Should I tell my insurance company about accident
3:18 You can access other benefits in your policy like medpay
3:52 Will it cause insurance rates go up
4:30 When you should not use your own insurance to pay for property damage

1 question I get asked all the time is should I use my own insurance to pay for my property damage. My answer – yes, yes and yes again – if you can.

There are many reasons to do this. First, chances are, not always, but chances are that if you have collision coverage in your insurance policy, you’ll get your property damage fixed a lot quicker if you use your own insurance.

Why? Well the defendant’s insurance company has to investigate fault for the accident before it accepts liability or responsibility and pays for your damages. Well that could take a long time. Sometimes weeks and months. In the meantime your car is sitting at a tow yard collecting storage fees.

Also, it’s likely that your insurance company will pay you more for your vehicle than the third party. Not always. But I’ve seen it happen more often than not.

Also, you should file with your insurance company every single time you get in an accident anyways. Why? Well first you’re probably contractually obligated to tell them if you were in an accident. Check your insurance policy I bet it says so.

Also, you likely have benefits in your policy that you can turn to like med pay or medical payments coverage and UM and UIM. Not going to say more about that as I’ve talked about those issues so many times on this channel. But go ahead use your own insurance.

Most of the time people don’t want to tell their insurance because they think their rates will go up. Listen, there is no hiding anything from State Farm or Allstate. They know about every claim that is filed trust me. So don’t think you can outsmart them. File.

When should you not use your own insurance company to pay for your property damage?

Well, if you cannot afford your deductible, then it is probable that you’re going to want to use the other guy’s insurance to pay for your damages.

Now I still recommend using your own insurance because what will happen is, yes you’ll pay your $500 deductible, but, your insurance company if they believe the other party is at fault, will attempt to subrogate or go after the other guy’s insurance company for reimbursement for any money they put out on your behalf. And that includes your deductible. So there’s a good chance you’ll get that money back in the end.

There’s a second situation when you are going to always use the other driver’s insurance – and that is when you do not have collision coverage.

In many states you’re only required to have liability coverage. It’s such a mistake and I get unfortunate comments on here all the time from people who lose out on this issue. But if you have no collision coverage, you have no choice but to go after the other guy’s insurance assuming you weren’t at fault for the accident.

One caveat here – there are some states where each insurance company may pay for their own insured’s damages. I’m not talking about that type of situation here. I cannot account for every state. I’m talking about a normal situation here.

And a final thought, if you think your vehicle is totaled, you may want to get estimates from both insurance companies and see which one values your vehicle the highest and then accept that offer. Just a side note or trick of the trade if you will.

If you want to speak with me call 877-529-4312 or email me at [email protected]

#propertydamage #propertydamageinsurance #propertydamagecoverage

Disclaimer: This video is for entertainment and informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal advice and the accuracy thereof is not warranted or guaranteed. This information is prone to errors and omissions. Use this information at your own risk. Watching this video does not create an attorney-client relationship.