What You Need to Know To Start A Road Traffic Accident Claim!
If you’re making a claim against your own insurance company, you must remember that there is an excess clause in your insurance policy. This means that if your claim exceeds the excess amount, your insurance company will only pay the difference between your claim and the excess amount.
For example, if the excess amount is $700 and your claim is $500 the insurers won’t payout at all. However, if your claim is $1,000, your insurers will only pay $300. You’ll also lose your no claim bonus.
If you’re making a claim against another person, you should get legal advice from a lawyer about the strengths and weaknesses of your case, how likely your claim will succeed and what is the likely amount of compensation that you’ll receive. Vehicle workshops are not authorised to make claims on your behalf.
If you’re making a claim if you have suffered personal injuries as a result of a hit and run case and you don’t know the particulars of the other person that caused the accident, make a claim to the Motor Insurance Bureau.
Under the FIDReC Non-Injury Motor Accident Scheme (“FIDREC-NIMA Scheme”), consumers can resolve non-injury motor accident disputes with insurance companies in cases where the claim amount claimed is below $1,000. The Scheme covers claims by consumers against an insurance company which isn’t their own insurer.
If you’re issued with a Police Summons formally prosecuting you for an offence related to the accident, you should ask for advice from a lawyer immediately before taking any further action. This is because if you plead guilty, accept a warning or pay the summons, it can be used against you at a civil hearing of the same case. It’s therefore highly advisable that you engage a lawyer as soon as possible to advise you on the appropriate steps to take as well as the legal implications that may arise in your case.
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