How To File An Insurance Claim In Coeur d’Alene

Drivers traveling through or across Coeur d’Alene all deserve a safe, accident-free journey. Unfortunately, with careless and distracted driving at an all-time high, collisions are bound to happen. Once a scene has been cleared and victims are treated for their injuries, the concern will turn to the insurance companies who should be supporting victims in their recovery.

Unfortunately, insurance companies aren’t in the business of doing what’s best for victims. They want to get anyone hurt by their drivers out the door as quickly as possible while offering as little in compensation as possible. If you are hurt in a car accident, that strategy can leave thousands of dollars in hospital bills in your lap over an accident that wasn’t your fault.

Seeking Insurance Assistance for Coeur d’Alene Car Accident Victims

A frightening accident and the serious injuries that result can leave you at the mercy of another driver’s insurance provider. Insurance agents will immediately go to work investigating your accident so they can find ways to avoid taking the blame for your damages. Don’t allow this shady practice to rob you of the compensation you need to heal and get your finances back in the plus column.

Reach out to a Coeur d’Alene Car Accident Lawyer who will listen to what happened to you. Our attorneys can quickly identify the best way to secure the compensation you’ll require to pay for the best medical care and complete a full recovery. The lawyers with CCD Law offer a free consultation on your case that comes with no obligation to you or your family.

Idaho Insurance Accident Coverage

After an accident, you’ll have to determine the name of the insurance provider backing the driver who caused your crash. You’ll likely be spending a lot of time with that other driver’s insurance agent trying to get your basic recovery bills taken care of.

Idaho drivers will have the same pool of insurance providers to choose from that every resident has. However, an out-of-state driver could use any provider out of the thousands that serve drivers across the U.S.  When dealing with an unfamiliar insurance agency, you can have a variety of different experiences. A small insurance company or a cut-rate operation can provide less than adequate customer service.

Here are a few of the major insurance providers in Idaho and some additional information for when you are forced to deal with them:

Car Insurance Company Pitfalls After a Coeur d’Alene Accident

You’d think insurance companies would go to work immediately to help injured victims get the money they need to pay doctors, surgeons, and other specialists. That’s usually not the case by a long shot.

Insurance agents can instead spend their time investigating the accident, looking for any backdoor escape routes that would help them shed liability for your hardships. One of the ways they lower your defenses for these tactics is to throw out the anchor on your claim.

They can purposely take as long as possible to respond to your requests. As your wait, your bills can be piling up. Slowly but surely you get more and more desperate. This can make you more susceptible to their next round of tricks.

Here are two main strategies Insurance agents might try:

  • Low Settlement Offers: Insurance agents will trust that you don’t know how much care your injury, like a broken bone, will end up costing. They can make you a lowball compensation offer that could leave 50% of your recovery expense in your lap. When you have a personal injury lawyer watching over your communications with an insurance company, you’ll be protected from these tricks. Your attorney will quickly inform you when you’re being robbed of compensation and force them to make another offer.
  • Shifting Blame: Insurance agents can also question your account of an accident and your driving record. A police accident report could say otherwise, but insurance agents can point the finger at you and say you caused your own accident. They can also check medical records and try to say your injury was preexisting and wasn’t caused by their driver’s error. Your attorney will take these flimsy excuses and turn them back on the insurance agents. In fact, when an insurance firm knows you have legal representation, they usually don’t even bother trying these tactics.

There’s another way you can protect your accident injury case. Don’t let an insurance agent get you on the phone to make a recorded statement. Insurance representatives will ask you to go over what happened, but they’re not trying to clear up confusion. They are hoping you say something they can twist into a reason to hang responsibility on you for a crash.

If they ask for a statement, politely refuse to talk. Let your car accident lawyer handle all of the communication with anybody working for an insurance company.

Mandatory Insurance Coverage In Idaho

Anybody who operates a motor vehicle on a roadway in the State of Idaho is required to be insured by a policy of liability insurance that provides 25/50/15 coverage. Written out those minimum requirements look like this:

  • $25,000 for the injuries or death of one person
  • $50,000 for injuries or death of more than one person per occurrence
  • $15,000 for property damage

These amounts can be far short of what victims need to take care of their physical and financial hardships. That $25,000 minimum injury liability coverage is hardly sufficient to cover a night in the ER, surgery, physical therapy, and any permanent or partial disability.

In this situation, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage may come into play. You can ask your insurance provider to chip in to get all of your hospital bills paid. Sadly, you may still have to battle to get what’s fair, even from your own agency. An attorney can make sure your insurance company does the right thing.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage comes with most policies but is not mandatory in Idaho. However, drivers who don’t want this coverage must indicate their choice in a written note.

Contact a Car Accident Lawyer Serving Victims in Coeur d’Alene

Established in Spokane in 1948, CCrary & Domanico, P.S. is licensed and practices in both Washington and Idaho. We are committed to providing our clients with the absolute highest quality legal representation.

If our Coeur d’Alene Car Accident Lawyers represent your case, we will work hard to earn fair compensation from the insurance company that stands between you and your recovery. Contact us after any accident resulting in a serious injury for a free, confidential consultation and case evaluation. We will only offer you advice that is in your best interest.

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