The property damage claim process can be tough.  If you’ve been hurt in a car accident, suffered car accident property damage, lost wages as a result of a car accident, or you have medical bills as a result of a car accident our attorneys can help you with your case to get the settlement you deserve.

What is Property Damage?

Property damage is defined as any injury to real or personal property. Real property items are things like buildings or vehicles. Personal property is most easily defined as anything you own. Items like jewelry, clothing, or things inside your home.

If you’re the victim of an accident, you probably have some kind of personal property damage. To be able to repair or replace your car, you need to file an insurance claim, specifically personal property claims. This can be a long and confusing process.

The insurance company is looking to settle your property damage claim as quickly as possible for as little as possible. Having an attorney review your claim and settlement for property damage before you agree to anything can save you a lot of frustration and possibly increase your settlement amount.

The success of any legal matter depends on the unique circumstances of each case, therefore, we cannot guarantee particular results for future clients.

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Filing Insurance Claims for Your Property Damage

You may be able to file two different insurance claims for receive compensation for your property damage claims. One claim will be filed with your property insurance company. The other claim would be with the property insurance of the other driver involved.

When you work with the lawyers at Denmon Pearlman, we’ll work to gather the necessary documents to file your claim and start the claims process. With our documentation, we’ll be able to show you deserve the highest payout for your property damage claims. We can talk to the claims adjusters on your behalf to answer questions and negotiate the payout you deserve.

Once we start the process of filing your claim, we’ll talk with you to discuss communication from the insurance adjuster and determine when it’s best to settle your claim or move forward with litigation to get you the settlement you deserve.

Use The At-Fault Party’s Property Car Insurance

The first claim to be filed should be with the at-fault driver’s insurance policy. At the scene of the accident, ask the other driver for their contact and insurance information. Using that information, you’ll want to reach out to that insurance company to file a claim to be compensated for the damage from the accident.

When talking with the insurance company about filing your claim and start the claims process, ask exactly what information the insurance adjuster needs to review and approve your claim. Generally you’ll need to provide information about the accident like witness statements and police reports, information about the damage to your property like quotes from repair shops, and personal information so the car insurance company can contact you.

Insurance companies are notoriously slow, and before an at-fault party is going to accept liability and pay your property damage claim, they’re going to do an investigation first. The practical reality of that is sometimes it can take days or weeks, or in some cases even longer. But you probably don’t have days or weeks. This is the Tampa Bay area. You have to commute and need a vehicle, right?

In a perfect world, the at-fault driver will accept liability and their insurance company will settle insurance claims with you quickly. Once you review and sign the agreement from the at-fault driver’s insurance company, they should issue you a check to help with damages and other expenses incurred because of the car accident.

Many cases aren’t that cut and dry. Insurance companies want to take time to do an investigation on insurance claims and review all the information available to them about the accident. Once their review is complete, the insurance adjuster will reach out with a settlement offer for you. You’ll need to review that settlement, and either accept it and sign the paperwork, or attempt to negotiate your settlement.

File with Your Insurance Company

But if you run into a situation where the at-fault driver’s insurance company is taking their time reviewing and approving a settlement to cover your damages, you should move forward with filing a claim against your insurance policy with your insurance company.

Your insurance company will move more quickly with providing you a settlement offer because they don’t need to determine fault in order to settle your claim. Start out by reaching out to your insurance company to see what information they need to process your property damage insurance claim.

Because it’s your policy, you’ll have to pay your deductible on your claim. This can be an expensive option if you’ve got a higher deductible, but moving forward with your own insurance company can allow you to receive a settlement more quickly.

Your insurance company will contact the at-fault driver’s insurance company to compensate them for the settlement provided to you in relation to your claim. This doesn’t require anything from you, but can help reduce any negative impact on your insurance policy.

Out of Pocket Payments While Claims are Processing

Many of us aren’t able to sit at home and wait for insurance companies to review and settle claims. You’ve got to get back to work, have activities to get to for your church, children, or other obligations. In order to be able to get back on the road, you’ve rented a car that you paid for yourself while waiting for the insurance company.

That makes sense logically, but it’s now a loss of use claim with your vehicle. Having an attorney on your side who knows all the different types of claims can help you be compensated fairly when it comes to your property damage claim.

If you run into the situation where you become out of pocket because you have to pay for yourself out of pocket for a rental car, that’s a loss of use claim with your vehicle, just give the information to us and we’ll make sure that gets taken care of at the end of the day, and your bigger bodily injury claim. The insurance company determines whether a vehicle is a total loss by comparing the cost of fixing your vehicle to the car’s market value.

You Can Talk To Both Insurances For Your Property Damage Claim

Another thing to note as you’re going through this. You can, with your property damage claim, talk to both the insurance company that represents the at-fault party, and your insurance company, and you can see if your car is broken to the point of no repair.

If it is, they have to buy you out of the vehicle.

You can compare the offers in both insurance companies and you can take the one you like better.

So if you like your insurance company’s offer better, if they’re going to pay you more money for the value of your vehicle if it’s been totaled, you can take that, instead of going to the at-fault party.

Why You Need an Attorney to Handle Your Property Damage Claim

The attorneys at Denmon Pearlman have many years of experience to help you be fairly compensated for your insurance claim. We’ll handle gathering the required information and submitting it to your insurance company.

When it comes to the settlement process, we’ll also handle the negotiations on your behalf. As soon as we hear back from the insurance adjuster contacts us with a settlement, your attorney will advise you on how to best move forward with the settlement process.

At times, the settlement offered from the insurance company will be fair and your attorney will advice you that it’s best to sign and accept the settlement offered. Other times, your lawyer will advise you that the offer sent from the insurance company is not fair and talk about the options for moving forward.

This could mean continuing to negotiate with the insurance adjuster or moving forward with litigation. Often times the insurance companies will settle during mediation and prior to actually going to trial because that will cost the insurance company a lot more money.

The attorneys at Denmon Pearlman work in the following areas:

Not Being Treated Fairly? Contact Us for a Free Consultation

If you feel that your insurance company’s treating you unfairly in any way, contact an experienced property damage lawyer like us.

Reach out for a free estimate so we can review your case and advise you on the best way to move forward. You can reach out to us any time if you have questions about your case.