What to do after a wreck?

"The weather outside is frightful ...", just a little snow and everyone is sliding all over the place.  I remember when we were stationed in Texas and it snowed about 1/2 an inch.  Everything shut down and we went driving around looking at all the wrecks.  That was big fun until I got in the insurance business. 

One question I get a lot is, "what do I do if I have an accident?"  That's an easy one, but it's easy to forget right after a wreck.  Everyone gets shook up whether it's their fault or not.  So let's review the basics.

1.  Stay calm.  It's never helpful to lose control.
2.  Check to see if anyone needs medical attention, life and welfare are far more important than anything else.
3.  If no one has any evident injuries the next step is to make sure you and your family are not in danger because of where you are, for example if you had a fender bender on 465 in the left lane you would want to make sure your vehicle is as far off the road as possible and that your family isn't walking out into traffic.
4.  Exchange information with the other driver, name, address, and insurance info at the very least. 
5.  Contact the police, an official record of the incident can be necessary down the road.
6.  Don't try to figure out who is to blame, that's for the police and the insurance companies to figure out. 
7.  Call your agent, unless your insurance company makes you call an 800 number.  Let the agent or his office staff know the details of when, where, who, and how. 

Once you've made the claim and started the process you can relax.  Don't spend time and energy worrying about what the accident will do to your premiums or how you are going to come up with the deductible, because you've just handled the worst of it.  If your premiums go up for a while to pay for the vehicle or someone Else's injuries, then you've still come out ahead because you don't have a huge payment at the time of the accident.  If you need to barrow $500 from you brother or your father to cover the deductible, then so be it, it's still better than paying the whole amount.

One caution though, you need to check and see that your liability limits are enough to protect you assets if the accident is your fault and the other party has big medical bills from the wreck, state minimums are not enough.  Just think how much it cost the last time you went to the doctor and imagine what trauma care for a head wound would cost.  Ask you agent if you limits are enough to save you from getting sued for all you savings and retirement.

I hope you don't have an auto claim in this icy weather but if you do, it's an opportunity to see how well you've done picking the company that will help you keep going after the wreck.  After all that's why you have insurance.

What is Full Coverage Anyway?

Ever wonder what all full coverage on your auto covers? If the law only requires liability, then why pay more for full coverage? Well, it all comes down to this ... what do you need to protect and how much are you whiling to pay?

Auto insurance is like most other types of insurance, the more bells and whistles to more it will cost you. At base the liability portion of your auto policy is the most important. But it has the most limited coverage.
Liability covers you from your family's mistakes. For example if your teenage son dropped his cell phone while trying to text and he rams the Smart car in front of him when he ducks down to pick it up. That would probably be his fail (or in the eyes of a potential lawsuit, your fault) so the Smart car driver would be entitled to you paying his medical bills. If you don't have liability coverage equal to or greater than his medical bills he would possibly sue you for the difference. Liability coverage will cover litigation and damages for the other driver if it is your fault.
Comprehensive (Comp for short) pays for damage done to your auto by flying rocks or missiles, falling objects, fire, theft, larceny, explosion, earthquake, windstorm, hail, water, flood, malicious mischief, vandalism, riot, civil commotion, and hitting or being hit by an animal. This usually has a deductable that you are responsible for before the damage is paid for by your policy.
Collision pays for damage to your vehicle caused by collision (I know, it sounds too simple but that's it!). This also has a deductable that you are responsible for before the damage is paid for by your policy.
Now full coverage is liability plus comprehensive and collision, all in the same package. It covers those around you that may be hurt by your mistakes and it covers the physical damage to your vehicle. But, full coverage on your auto won't pay for maintenance or any damage from lack of maintenance. Full coverage does not necessarily include towing or rental car, so be sure and ask about those. If your vehicle is more than ten years old you should check out it's value, because your insurance company will only pay you up to the value of the vehicle at the time of loss. So if it would take $10,000 to repair your car but it is only worth $2,000, you would get a check for $2,000 and the insurance company would get the wrecked car to salvage (that's what they mean by totaled out).
The most important part of your auto policy is the agent, because he is the one that will help you find what coverage is right for you, and he (or she) will be there to explain coverage when there is a loss. Make sure to buy liability limits that are high enough to protect your assets because sometimes just being legal for less isn't enough.