Mother nature has sure been working overtime this winter season in the mid-west and East coast. Everytime I look at the weather report, these areas cannot seem to dodge the storms. I know some locations have been experiencing drought and are in desperite need of moisture, who would have thought mother nature would come in with a vengeance. With these types of storms come accidents and not just a two car accident, more like an entire parking lot. To add insult to injury, then you might be stuck on the roadway for hours or even days in these cases before you could even begin to roll again, if you were lucky enough to escape damage.
So you are in an accident, what do you do now?
Many insurance companies have their own adjusters, but in times like these it would take working 24/7 to accomplish all the claims and prepare a body damage estimate. So they may opt to have the body shops prepare the estimates for their approval. With the storms in the East Coast, I am sure many of those cars ended up on the end of a tow truck hooks. Body shops pray for this kind of weather but not for injuries that accompany then.
If you were one of the unlucky ones, your car was towed to either a tow lot for safe keeping or a body shop until your insurance company directs where the vehicle should go. Now you are out of a car and hope fully you have a rental car option on your policy, if not when a chain reaction type accident happens, you might be the one cited, which means, your policy covers the claim. You never really know what your policy holds until you need to use it.
When it comes to repairing the vehicle and hopefully its not a total loss, your insurance company has in the policy how the repairs will be performed. Many Insurance Companies allow for aftermarket parts as replacement parts. Some people might think this isn’t fair since the parts that were wrecked were original, but in many cases, some aftermarket companies have some good quality parts and then others, their parts have a hard time lining up causing more of a headache and less quality. The body shops know which ones will make their lives easier and satisfy the customer. Before something happens, find out from your Agent just exactly what your policy holds and how an accident will be handled, so you are prepared. As the saying goes, Better to be Safe than Sorry!
If your car does need medical attention due to an accident, make sure to check the vehicle over once the repairs have been completed and prior to signing the receipt to insure that all parts line up and are to your satisfaction. One misaligned part can cause problems down the road. Stay safe and Happy Motoring.