When you are looking to file insurance claims, you want to keep in mind that some times it is best to not file a claim than it is to file one. In most cases, when you file a insurance claims against the insurance policy that could have been easily repaired, you run the risk of increasing your insurance rates. Claims that are filled out against your insurance policy should be claims that are costly and require a insurance claim to be brought forth against your insurance policy. There is a time to file a claim and a time not to file a claim. Use your own discretion when it comes to filing a claim but know that you can expect a process instead of a easy solution. 

When you are thinking of filling out a claims form with your insurance company you will want to make sure that the claim is going to be worth the increase in your monthly payment. Most individuals will not file a claim unless it is well past the amount of the deductible. If you have damage done to your car and your deductible is going to be well under what the cost of the deductible and repairs is then you will want to file a claim against your insurance for repairs to be made to your vehicle. The insurance claims adjuster will review your case and see if your claim is something that they will cover under the insurance policy that you took out on your vehicle. Depending on the level of the insurance that you took will depend on who will be paying for the expense of your repairs on your vehicle. 

The insurance claims will process your paperwork and then submit payment to the company that is responsible for the repairs made to your car. Once the payment has been received your vehicle will be released to you. Typically this can be a process that takes several days and in most cases the insurance company gives you a rental care for use during the time that your vehicle is in the repair shop.

Have you ever wondered who gets the check when you have an accident? There are several factors in determining who will get the check when you file a claim. 

If the other person was at fault when you got into an accident then you will get the check to take to the repair shop. This is the least hassle for you when filing a claim. Most of the time the other party’s insurance company will want to see at least three estimates on the repairs and will go with the least expensive cost to repair. This is a third-party accident claim.

If the car is considered totaled in the accident, the check will go to the lien holder. Then the remainder or balance of the loan will go to you minus your deductible, if you were at fault for the accident.

If you were at fault for the accident and your car requires repairs, the check will be in your name and possibly the lien holders name as well. If you have a lien with a bank, they may require seeing the car after repairs are finished to the vehicle. If the check is in both the lien holder and the second party’s name then both signatures are required on the check before the release of the car. Getting the signature from the lien holder can take many weeks to get. In this case, if your lien holder is a bank, they may require that they see the car after completed work to ensure that the repairs are correct. The best way to ensure that is to take it to the dealership and have them to inspect it and then sign a statement saying the repairs are complete. Then the lien holder will sign the check for you to take back to the repair shop. This will require you to do some more legwork and it can take a few weeks to receive you car back. 

If you decide to use one of the insurance company’s repair shops then you might not see the check at all. The repair shop will get the check.