It’s a long and complicated process, okay, actually it’s only a few steps, but it’s not painless. Filing a claim with an insurance company can be as simple as calling them. After that, it becomes exceptionally complicated. When you go to file a claim on your own, you need to exercise caution.
Starting a claim through any platform requires that you not make any statement that could make it seem like you’re at fault. Additionally, you’ll want to ensure that you explain everything precisely as it happened. Overall, it’s complicated. Many people don’t remember exactly how the crash occurred, but your insurance company expects you to.
While you can file a claim with the insurance company on your own, sometimes it can be easier to let a professional handle it. Las Vegas car wreck attorneys have experience dealing with insurance companies, and can help you receive fair compensation.
Nevada Claim Requirements
Nevada requires that all car insurance claims be made immediately except when certain conditions occur. However, the restrictions for the state explicitly give injured people a year to file. That often means that people need to file with their insurance right away and can decide to take action against the other driver within the following 12 months.
To start your claim, you must call and report the accident to your insurance provider. This is not the same as initiating your claim. You can call your insurance and say, “I’m reporting an accident. The crash happened on x street and x street, it involved my vehicle.”
Do You Have the Right Insurance?
The big questions that people ask before filing a claim are whether they have the right coverage or not. Many people that choose the cheapest option believe that when they get in a crash, they can’t get any compensation. Liability insurance only covers the victim in a crash. But for those who are the victims of the crash, you can get compensation.
What you will need to do is file a claim with your insurance and contact an attorney to file a demand with the at-fault driver. Often this all happens through the person’s insurance provider. Unfortunately, two insurance companies working together on any issue often leads to disaster. Why would either insurance company pay out what they should when they can get away with paying out only a tiny bit?
How Can You Start Your Claim?
So after you call and report your case, you’ll need to make a statement that details the wreck. In your statement, you’re beginning the claim. You’re saying, I was in a crash, and it is that person’s fault. Then you will need to craft a demand letter. Many people skip this because they don’t realize they have a right to make a demand. You do.
Your statement serves to give a full account of who was doing what at the time of the crash. The demand letter takes on a very different purpose. In your demand letter, you’ll want to evaluate exactly how much the crash cost you in damages.
Those damages will include all property damage, even your phone, that was lost in the wreck. Then you’ll include medical bills and debts. Finally, you’ll include lost time at work and non-economic damages such as the loss of enjoyment of your hobbies.
Your Statement
Your statement is technically the beginning of your claim, but it can also quickly lead to the end of it. If you include things such as, “I slammed on my brakes,” then it may imply you were following too closely or were partially at fault. You may have slammed on your brakes, but using the charged word “slammed” makes it seem as though you did it because you had to. Often, we slam on our brakes out of the knee-jerk reaction, not because we didn’t have time to stop.
When writing your statement, you need to present facts, not emotion. Give details as plainly as possible so that people can evaluate the crash, not how you felt about it. You might say, “I began to stop, and that’s is when the car behind me collided with my back bumper.” It’s factual, it’s plain, and it’s true.
Contacting a Nevada Car Accident Attorney to Help File a Claim
Contacting an attorney often isn’t listed as one of the steps for filing a claim because, in theory, you could do it alone. Many people do file claims without the help of an attorney. Those claims are the reason why people feel so cheated by insurance companies. They file their claim and then weeks or even months later receive a check for much less than they were expecting.
You don’t have to be one of those people that have to struggle to recover financially. Instead, take control of the negotiations and get to work toward getting the full compensation. Contact our Las Vegas car wreck law firm today.