Hi, I’m Roger Ghai and I wanted to talk today about whether you should actually notify your own insurance company that you’ve been involved in a motor vehicle accident. The answer is absolutely yes. There’s a variety of reasons that you should do that. Yes, it’s true the other party has to pay for your damages and they’re responsible and so forth but in the situation that the other party doesn’t have enough insurance to cover your injuries and you have not notified your insurance company, you may be letting your own insurance company off the hook.
Let me explain a little bit further. Let’s say, for example, that you have what we call in the state of Georgia “full insurance coverage” on your motor vehicle. Let’s say, for example, that you might even have a high limit of $500,000 but when you’ve been involved in this car accident with the other party, they only have $25,000 of insurance coverage. In most accidents, most minor fender benders, that’s going to be plenty of insurance to cover your injuries. You won’t have to pursue a claim through your own insurance company.
Let’s say, for example, that because of that accident you sustained a cervical herniated disc and you require surgery. Those surgeries sometimes can go as much as $200,000 or more. The other driver only has $25,000 of insurance. Where’s the other $175,000 going to come from? Well, if you’ve been smart and you’ve notified your insurance at the time of the accident and get a claim number established, if it becomes necessary later on for you to get more money to cover your injuries, well, that money has to come from your insurance company.
Let me tell you a little secret about the insurance industry. They’re very good at putting little loopholes into their insurance contracts. Most insurance policies in the state of Georgia read such as this. If you do not notify them within a “reasonable time” and a reasonable time is open to interpretation but the best practice is to notify them immediately. Even though you’ve got $500,000 of insurance that would cover your injuries in the normal situation, if you’ve not notified them, let’s say you’ve waited 30 or 60 days, guess what? They’re going to be off the hook, scot-free.