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Reader’s Question:

My dad was judged to be at fault in a car accident here in San Francisco, California. Would our car insurance settle the whole amount of the damages my father needs to pay?

Guine

San Francisco, CA

If you didn’t scrimp on car insurance, you should have at least some level of financial backing from your car insurance provider in paying whatever damages and obligations (this would range from hospital and medical costs, rehabilitation expenses, economic or income loss, property damages and even payment for suffering and pain on the injured party’s end.) that needs to be paid by your father. Whether or not you will be provided the full amount depends on the coverage ceiling set by your car insurance company when you’re father signed the agreement.

There are a lot of people out there are not familiar with how their insurance would work once involved in a car accident. Some think that just because they have “insurance” that they will be covered completely. Normally, most peoples auto liability insurance coverage (which should fall greater than or equal to the minimum required coverage amount by the state of California (that is 15/30/5, $15,000 coverage for injuries per person per accident, $30,000 total limit for all injured person per accident and $5,000 for damages to property) are enough for minor car accidents and injuries. But if you’re father is obligated to pay full in a major car accident than you would want to get in touch with your insurance provider there in Sacramento. If you’re father got an umbrella policy than this should be quite enough to cover him even if it is a major car accident he caused.

Reader’s Question:

I have not been involved in a car accident yet, and have no plans of being involved in the future, but I want to be prepared and know how to properly file a claim to my insurance company here in Berkeley, California. Any tips?

Dan Paulo

Berkeley, CA

It’s a good idea to be proactive and know how to properly file a car insurance claim if, and when, you get involved in a car accident. Car accidents may come as a shock to most that they forget to do some necessary process, or gather important information about the accident and the parties involved. Some may even find their car insurance provider unhelpful if they weren’t able to take all necessary information such as license plates, names, etc., during the accident, making filing a claim a bigger hassle than it should be. Here’s a list of the actions you need to take if you get involved in a car accident:

Get all the necessary information.
If a car accident involves others, make sure you note down names, vehicle information such as license plates, contact numbers and addresses. This will assist your insurance company in contacting all the people involved to process the necessary insurances or claims to be made.

File a Police Report.
Get in touch with the police department there in Berkeley, California and file the necessary report as soon as possible. Your insurance company will be looking for this when you file your claim.

Call your car insurance agent.
Ask what are the steps you need to do and documents you need to give or fill out to file for a claim. Also consult your policy to see what kind of coverages and bring this policy with you when you meet up with your insurance agent.