There are Various Types of of Car Accidents
Even if you’re the best driver on Earth, you can still get in a car accident. We share the road with other drivers, and sometimes people are driving recklessly, distracted, or are using drugs or alcohol. All of these factors can affect how your insurance claim pans out.
The exact type of accident can also affect your claim. For example, rear-end collisions are less likely to cause injury than head-on collisions. Depending on your injuries, your claim can also be worth more or less. In addition, the accident type can make police officers assume that one person or another is at fault. This can also affect your claim.
Before you file an insurance claim, it’s important to take all of these factors into account. Here’s a guide to different types of accident, and how they can affect your insurance claim.
Types of Accident
The first thing to consider is the type of accident. How many cars were involved? How were they positioned? How were they moving? Insurance companies consider all of these things when they evaluate your claim.
Single Car Accidents
A single car accident is the simplest type of accident, since only one vehicle is involved. Typically, these accidents are caused due to mechanical failure, fallen debris, or animals on the roadway. The exact nature of the crash will affect your risk of injury. For instance, simply skidding off an icy road at low speeds is generally not going to cause injury.
However, a high-speed rollover accident is one of the most dangerous types of accident. Your insurance will pay for any of your injuries, up to your policy limit. However, damage to your vehicle will only be covered if you have a comprehensive policy.
Rear-End Collisions
A rear-end collision occurs when one car crashes into the car in front of it. Typically, these accidents are caused because of driver distraction. However, they can also be caused by a tailgating driver or by the front driver making a sudden, panicked stop. They can even be caused by ice, oil slicks, or other poor road conditions.
In these types of accident, the rear vehicle is almost always going to be found at fault. Whiplash, Neck and back Injuries are Common in these type of accidents and you should hire the best car accident lawyer you can find.
Side-Impact Collisions
Sice-impact, or T-bone collisions, occur when one car drives into the side of another car. Due to the nature of the accident, they typically happen at intersections or in parking lots. They’re generally caused by distracted or reckless drivers.
At low parking lot speeds, they tend not to be very serious. On the other hand, when the vehicle T-boning the other vehicle is moving at high speeds, they can cause significant damage and injuries. Police will generally assume that the T-boning driver is at fault, but this may not always be the case. For example, they may have had the right of way, and the other driver ran a red light.
Head-on Collisions
Head-on collisions are the most dangerous type of accident, since the vehicles are usually moving at a high rate of speed. They’re almost always caused when someone is driving the wrong way on a roadway. As a result, fault is generally easy to assign.
Different Vehicle Types
In most cases, an accident involves two drivers and their own two insurance companies. That said, there are certain situations where this does not apply. For example, if you’re injured while riding in an Uber or Lyft car, your situation is going to be different. If the accident was caused by the other driver, you’d file a claim against their insurance company.
However, if your rideshare driver was at fault, you would need to file a claim against their insurance company or against the rideshare company’s insurance depending on what state you’re in. In a taxi, on the other hand, you would have to file a claim against your driver’s insurance.
Another scenario is if you’re hit by a driver who’s on the job. In that case, the driver’s individual insurance policy would typically not cover any damages or injuries. Typically, you’d have to file a claim against the employer’s insurance company, instead.
Finally, self-driving vehicles present a whole new mess of legal issues. This is a new area of law, and there’s not enough case law or regulation to say for sure how you would proceed with a claim. You might be able to file a claim against the driver’s insurance company, or you might have to sue the self-driving vehicle’s manufacturer.
Different Types of Driver
It’s well known in the insurance industry that teenage drivers are the most likely to be in a car accident. That’s why teen drivers have to pay the highest insurance rates. Teen drivers tend to be overconfident, so they may take unnecessary risks that put themselves and others at risk. They also lack experience, so they may not handle poor conditions as well as older drivers. Finally, teen drivers are the most likely to be using a cell phone instead of paying attention to the road.
On the other end of the spectrum, elderly drivers can also cause accidents, despite years of experience. It might make you feel bad filing a claim against somebody’s grandparent. Remember, you’re not going after the elderly person themselves. Their insurance company will be the ones paying the claim.
Reckless drivers and drunk drivers can also complicate insurance claims. Provided you weren’t the one driving under the influence, this is actually good news. In most states, a person driving under the influence is automatically considered to be at fault in an automobile accident.
One unique complication is if you’re the victim of a hit and run driver. If you can’t identify the other driver, you’ll end up having to file a claim against your own insurance company in order to cover your losses. Another complication can arise when the other driver is uninsured, or when their insurance isn’t sufficient to cover your injuries. In that case, you’ll need to file a claim with your own insurance company to cover the balance. Keep in mind that in this case, you’ll typically only be covered if you have uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance. If you don’t, you might be stuck holding the bag.