How TO File AN Insurance Claim After AN Accident
With so many hours spent on the road, an accident is bound to happen in one of your commercial trucks. If you’re running a new trucking company though, this may be your first time handling an insurance claim for one of the vehicles in your fleet.
Dealing with trucking insurance adjusters, paperwork, and the local authorities is stressful. However, with the right commercial truck insurance, it can go more smoothly.
Buy The Right Commercial Trucking Insurance
The first step to take is long before an accident ever occurs. In addition to having the right highway permits, you will need to follow state laws to protect yourself and your trucking company. State laws require minimum amounts of insurance, but it may be beneficial to add more to your policy to fit your needs.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires truckers who drive vehicles weighing over 10,000 pounds and cross state lines or transport large amounts of hazardous materials to have between $750,000 and $5,000,000 of insurance. If your drivers are not hauling hazardous materials and the truck weighs between 10,000 and 26,000 pounds, you’re required to have $300,000 in coverage.
In addition to getting the proper mandated coverage, it’s always a good idea to check with your trucking insurance carrier every year. There may be additional options that benefit your fleet that you’ll want to add for further protection.
Contact Your Insurance Company to File Your Claim
With trucking insurance firmly in place, you can contact your insurance carrier to file a claim following an accident. This may include property, cargo, bodily injury, or damage to the equipment. For truckers, you will need to have your valid trucking license handy along with the insurance policy number.
It will also help to have the police report and any pictures of the accident scene. Keeping good records of everything is crucial in quickly resolving your insurance claim. The more input you have in the form of witness contact information, photo or video evidence, and an accident report, the easier it will be for the insurance adjuster to process the claim.
For trucking company owners, it is imperative that you let your drivers know how to proceed after an accident in a commercial truck. Always encourage them to stick to the facts and be honest about what happened.
Who Is At Fault?
Depending on the state the accident occurred, you’ll be looking at fault or no-fault situations. However, the insurance company will want to assign fault to someone. If you were at fault as the trucker, your insurance company would pay according to the terms of the policy.
When the accident isn’t your fault, then the other driver’s insurance should take on this burden. But in trucking accidents, it can be more difficult to figure out who is at fault.
Your insurance adjuster will determine this by making an evaluation. In crashes with multiple vehicles, the insurance adjusters from each company will try to work together to make a decision. In the instances where they can’t seem to agree, the courts will determine fault. This can happen even when a police report cites one party as liable for the accident. While a police report certainly helps, it is not the only thing that insurance companies use to make their final determination.
Indeed, there are times when all drivers can share responsibility. You may be found to have some partial fault, which reduces how much you can recover. Things can get messy quickly if you are at fault and the other party sues you for personal injury. Thankfully, with good trucking insurance, your insurer will represent you in court and through negotiations to reach a settlement.
When another party is at fault, your insurance company will likely assist but may not take over the case. You may need to file a claim with the other party’s insurer or seek legal representation.
These are all important things to know, and the best place to start is with your trucking company’s insurer to make sure you understand the policy and your coverage.
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