Insured drivers that were involved in car accidents, but they were not at fault, will need to pay the deductibles in order to have access to their collision coverage and pay for their cars to be repaired. Many drivers are wondering how they are going to recover their deductibles from the at-fault driver.
The most common scenarios for recovering the deductibles money from the at-fault drivers are the following:
Dealing with the at-fault driver’s insurance provider. In this case, the victim is not required to pay for the deductibles. In most cases, the at-fault driver’s insurer will pay for the deductible. After the car accident, the at-fault driver’s insurer will estimate the cost of repairing or replacing the victim’s vehicle and will pay the required amount to the victim. In this scenario, the victim is not filing any claims to their insurance company, so they are not required to pay their own deductible.
The victim is filling a claim at his own insurer. Although it seems counter-intuitive at first, this move can bring many advantages to the victim. Victims that choose to file a claim to their own insurers, will receive compensation faster than they would have when dealing with the at-fault driver’s insurer. The at-fault driver’s insurance company will try to delay payments and prioritize their own customers over the victims.
Subrogation. Subrogation is a legal right that allows one party (the victim’s insurer) to make a payment that is actually owned by another party (the at-fault driver’s insurer), then gather the money from the other company after the payments have been made. In most cases, the insurers will pursue the subrogation process in the name of the victim. They will also recover the payments and the deductibles on the victim’s behalf.