After being involved in a car accident in Louisiana, you are likely to have damage to your vehicle and need to make a property damage claim.
Sometimes the damage to your car is so severe that it is not drivable, which can cause significant problems, including stopping you from getting to work, bringing your children to school, or making doctor’s appointments.
In order to get an insurance company to pay for your vehicle damage after a car accident, you need to start an insurance claim. After a car accident that is not considered to be your fault, you have two choices: you can make a claim against your own insurance company or you can make a claim against the insurance company of the driver who caused the car accident.
In this blog post, our New Orleans car accident attorneys at Kiefer & Kiefer answer some of the most frequent questions our clients have about the process of getting their vehicle repaired after an accident.
How Do I Make a Claim to Repair My Property Damage Following a Louisiana Car Accident?
In order to start a claim with the insurance company for the other driver to institute an adjustment for your vehicle damages, you need first to find out who their insurance company is.
Then, contact that insurance company to open a claim. You should have all of the information on your vehicle available to you, including:
- the make,
- the model,
- the VIN number, and
- the vehicle location
The adjuster may ask you questions about your vehicle or the facts of the loss.
Please note: If you were injured in this accident, we recommend contacting our team of Louisiana car accident attorneys immediately and not discussing the accident with the insurance company at all. They will likely record the conversation and try to use it against you later. You are NOT required to cooperate with someone else’s insurance company by doing a recorded statement.
To make a claim against your own insurance company, just give them a call or use their app on your phone if you have one. They will walk you through the process.
Even if you are not planning to make a claim against your insurance company, it is wise to alert them that an accident occurred. They cannot raise your rates if you are involved in an accident that was not your fault.
How Do I Make a Claim to Repair My Property Damage Following an Accident if I am Also Injured?
It is very important to understand that your property damage claim is SEPARATE from any bodily injury claim.
You have an entire year from the date of the car accident to formally bring a personal injury claim for injuries from a car accident in court.
Do NOT let any insurance company trick you into taking a settlement for your injury claim while discussing your property damage.
In fact, if you are injured in any way in the accident, we recommend you consult a personal injury attorney as soon as possible to help you with this process.
We have seen too many clients come to us to pursue a claim only to have to tell them that they actually settled it already because they were tricked by the insurance company.
Contact Kiefer & Kiefer New Orleans Car Accident Attorneys Today
At Kiefer & Kiefer, you are not just a number to us. We’ve been helping the people of New Orleans through personal injury cases of all kinds for three generations, and we will give you a consultation for free. Then, we’ll help you through your claim. Contact our office today to get started.
