A common issue in bodily injury or wrongful death vehicle accident claims is who pays for the damage to your car? If you have Collision Coverage as part of your automobile insurance coverage, you usually have the option to choose either your insurance, or the at fault driver's insurance to pay for your vehicle damage.
Collision Coverage is optional in Florida, in fact, most insurance coverage is optional in Florida. The minimum automobile insurance requirement in Florida is only $10,000 of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and $10,000 of Property Damage (PD) coverage. Remember, the mandatory Property Damage coverage only pays for damage to other people's property, not damage to your own car.
I often help client's choose the best method for getting the vehicle damage resolved while handling their personal injury claim. There are several factors that influence my recommendation on the choice between your insurance or theirs.
Fault is the key factor in the choice of which insurance to use. If you caused the accident, it was your fault, the other driver's insurance has no obligation to pay for your vehicle. In that case, your only option is your Collision Coverage. If the accident was your fault and you have no Collision Coverage, the unfortunate fact is that you pay your own vehicle damage out of your pocket.
When the other driver is clearly at fault, you can consider using the other driver's insurance to resolve your vehicle damage claim. If fault is not clear, I strongly advise clients to use their own insurance. The other driver's insurer only has to pay your vehicle damage when the crash was their fault so if fault is unclear, they may refuse payment, or offer some compromise amount based on the disputed fault. On the other hand, your Collision Coverage pays regardless of fault. It is important to remember that determining fault is not as simple as who received the ticket. In Florida, the crash report and ticket are not admissible in a civil trial per Florida Statute § 316.066(4). For fault to be clear, it usually requires physical evidence, like skid marks, or independent eyewitnesses.
It is my practice to encourage people to use their own Collision Coverage in all instances. Typically, using your own insurance is faster and easier. Using your own coverage also avoids any discussion or debate about who was at fault. If you use the other driver's insurance to pay collision damage, this may obligate you to give a statement to the other driver's insurer. You are already required to by contract to give your own insurance a statement.
As part of my handling the personal injury or wrongful death claim, I help clients navigate the path to resolution of their vehicle damage claim. I help with the important parts of the vehicle damage resolution. The important parts are the statements and the closing paperwork. In some instances a statement is required, other times it is optional, but for all statements, your attorney should be there. I help clients prepare for their statement so they can clearly and concisely give a truthful and accurate statement. When the insurer offers a resolution, I review any closing paperwork, such as a check and release, to make sure the client's bodily injury claim is protected.
I help with the important parts of the vehicle damage claim, but stay out of the way on the unimportant parts. This allows me to continue my practice of charging no fee on the vehicle damage recovery. I only charge a fee on vehicle damage recovery when that is a contested claim. A contested claim is one where the insurer does not pay on the initial demand.
In an automobile accident claim, the priority is the wrongful death/bodily injury claim. However, getting the vehicle damage resolved is important and may effect the primary claim. I take the right steps to help the process while preserving the client's ability to pursue the core claim. If you want my help in an automobile accident claim involving serious injury or death, call Judson L. Cohen at 1-888-412-6436 (1-888-41COHEN).
