How To Determine Who Is At Fault In An Auto Accident

Auto accidents happen every day.  Hopefully you will never be involved in one but if you are, what you do and say after an accident could have a big impact on who is ultimately found to be at fault. Here are a few tips and ideas to help you better understand the process and what you should do after an auto accident.

Call the police.  I have seen situations where people were so sure that they were at fault that they agreed to pay for all damages, only to be shocked later that the other party’s insurance paid for the damages instead.  I have seen accidents where one person denied even being in a wreck in the first place.  The police report is designed to protect you and to provide the insurance adjuster with enough information to figure out which driver caused the accident.  Make it a rule to always call the police, no matter how small the accident.  The police report will provide the insurance adjuster with the drivers names and contact information, witness information as well as a brief summary from the officer.  If you don’t think the accident was your fault, then tell the police officer why.

Gather the other driver’s information.   Even if the other driver is in a hurry and doesn’t want to wait for the police, make sure that before they leave you get as much contact information about them as you can.  Write down the make and model of the car and the license plate number as well as the driver’s name and contact information.   If it is you that is in a hurry, try to find the patience to wait for the police officer.  Recently one of our clients was hit by a driver who ran a red light.  She was in a hurry and didn’t wait around for the police officer to arrive.  She was shocked to read the police report later as it indicated that she was the one who ran the red light.  

Take as many pictures as you can.  Almost everyone has a camera on their phone.  Include photos of skid marks, debris fields as well as photos of the cars both before and after they are moved from the scene of the accident.  It is hard to know just what might become important later so the more photos you can take, the better.

Make your statement to both the police officer and the insurance adjuster.  Tell the officer what happened in logical step by step order.   You will need to record a statement later with the insurance adjuster.  When you do this, be sure to include everything you can think of, no matter how trivial it may seem to you.  The adjuster will study your statement with the summary provided by the police report and along with that and the other party’s statements and photos will then decide who is at fault.

At Clinard Insurance Group we want all of our clients to be informed consumers.  If you have a claim on any of your policies, from auto insurance to home insurance or even business insurance, we will be there with you through each step of the claims process.  If you need help with any of your insurance needs, please call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557.  We look forward to serving you.

Two Large Insurance Companies In NC Will Now Require You To Tie Your Auto Insurance To Your Home Insurance Policy

For the last several years, insurance companies doing business in NC have lost money on homeowners insurance as a group.  The rates are just too low to pay for all of the losses that occur under those policies.  After a year like 2011, when weather related losses were so frequent and so costly, insurance companies are now beginning to take more drastic action to protect their bottom lines.   Also, although the NC General Assembly slyly pushed a lot of the risks of the underfunded beach plan on to the backs of the homeowners in the state, there is still a substantial risk assessment for hurricane losses to insurance companies who write home insurance in NC.  This is just another incentive for the insurance companies to trim their book of home insurance policies.  All of this adds up to the fact that insuring homes in NC is a good way to lose money quickly.  And we are now beginning to see the various strategies that the insurance companies are employing to protect themselves from home insurance losses.

Recently, two of the 5 largest home insurers in NC announced that they are changing their rules to require that their policyholders also buy auto insurance from them or the homeowners policy will be cancelled at the next renewal.  Between these two insurance companies is it estimated that about 72,000 households will have their home insurance policies cancelled in 2012.

Your first question may be if it is legal to require auto insurance to go with a homeowners insurance policy?  The answer is that this is perfectly legal if morally questionable.  The NC Department of Insurance does not regulate the underwriting rules that each insurance company uses.   There is little doubt that in most cases you will be better off if you combine your home and your auto insurance with the same insurance company since you will generally receive discounts for doing so.  But there are many cases where the insurance company may not be willing to write your auto insurance either because they don’t like your driving record, your claims record or even the type of car you drive.   If this happens to you, then you are going to find it much more difficult to find insurance for your home at the low rates you have been used to in the past.

So where do I think the NC homeowners insurance market is headed?  Well, already we see much tougher underwriting guidelines for home insurance.  Many companies will not write a new home policy without the auto insurance.  Of course most are currently willing to leave their stand-alone home insurance policies on the books for now, but that could change and this would mean even more cancellations and nonrenewals for NC home owners.   If you have a large insurance account with several late model cars and a high value home, then you shouldn’t have much trouble finding home insurance, unless you have a poor claims or driving history.  But homeowners rates are going up and will continue to do so for the near future.  The rates that most people are paying today will seem like a real bargain 2 years from now.  Many insurance companies raised their homeowners insurance rates in December and we are likely to see even more rate increases next year.   In contrast, South Carolina home insurance rates are nearly twice what they are in North Carolina.  Our weather systems and home values are similar so I think you can expect steady increases in your NC home insurance rates until they are nearly twice what they are now.  Of course some of this is dependent on the NC Department of Insurance which sets the maximum rates that can be charged for home insurance.  If over time, those maximum rates are not high enough to allow insurance companies to make a profit on homeowners insurance, then you will begin to see a lack of availability in the marketplace which could leave some home owners with no insurance options at all.

If you have a bad insurance claims history or a bad driving record, there are still some good options available to you for your home insurance There are several insurance companies in NC who will write stand-alone homeowners insurance policies without the auto insurance being included.  Over time there will be less and less of these options as the home insurance marketplace begins to tighten up and consumers flock to and then overrun the last  companies to take action to reduce their homeowners policy count.  But for the short run, there is still plenty of availability if you have a good, independent insurance agent who can shop the marketplace for you.

The uncertainty in the home insurance market just serves to underscore how important it is for you to find and establish a relationship with a professional, independent insurance agent that can protect you from the market place gyrations that can create havoc with your insurance budget.    At Clinard Insurance Group, we insure thousands of households all across North Carolina and our homeowners insurance market is healthy and open for business.  If you received a homeowners nonrenewal letter from your insurance company, or if you need any help with your home or auto insurance then please, give us a call, toll free at 877-687-7557.  We will be glad to help you and with us you will have your own, personal insurance agent who is professional, kind and will get to know you and your situation.  We will take as much time as you need to make sure that you fully understand what you are buying and that you are happy with your choices.  And you get all of this and still save money.  You save twice, once on price, once on advice.  Call us now at 877-687-7557.