Steps to Filing Your Auto Insurance Claim

Here are some steps to claim insurance :

Evaluate whether or not you should file a claim

Did you know that just when you call your insurance company with a question about possibly filing a claim it is often recorded on your insurance record? It is important to keep your insurance record clean and one way is deciding whether or not you should file a claim. It doesn’t matter if the accident is your fault or not, you should ask yourself first if you can pay for the damage. Simply put, if you can pay for it yourself without financial hardship, don’t file the claim.

Fill out your What to do After an Auto Accident Worksheet

This worksheet, which when you click on the title is provided for print-out, will help you keep track of the information you will need to file your auto insurance claim. It is important to get every detail of the accident documented and to try to find witnesses that would be willing to talk to your insurance company to back-up your story.

File the claim ASAP

You will want to file the claim as soon as possible with your insurance company. Even if it is not your fault, your insurance company will handle the claim process as your advocate.

Prepare for a possible call from the other insurance company

If there is a dispute between the two parties in the accident, you may get a call from the other driver’s insurance company asking for your version of what happened at the accident scene. If this happens make sure you document everything you say and the name of the customer service agent you talked too.

Finally, getting your car fixed

If you had body damage to your vehicle this is when you will finally get it fixed. After your claim is approved, you will likely get a call from your insurance company about sending an insurance adjuster out to assess the damage or asking you to send your car to a pre-approved shop to get it fixed.

Understanding Health Insurance Terms

When searching for a health insurance plan or after one has already signed up, the plan terms, or descriptions of provisions and coverages can be hard to understand. When one is reviewing the terms they often confusingly say, “What does that mean?”

Help is here! Below is a list of common health insurance coverage terms to help everyone understand more about what their health insurance plan has to offer.
You may also be interested in the Health Insurance Reform Definitions

Deductible
The deductible refers to the amount of money that the insured would need to pay before any benefits from the health insurance policy can be used. This is usually a yearly amount so when the policy starts again, usually after a year, the deductible would be in effect again. Some services, like doctor visits, may be available without meeting the deductible first. Usually there are separate individual deductible amounts and total family deductible amounts.

Co-insurance
This is usually a percentage amount that is the insured's responsibility. A common co-insurance split is 80/20. This means that the insurance company will pay 80% of the procedure and the insured is required to pay the other 20%.

Co-payments
The co-payment is a fixed amount that the insured is required to pay at the time of service. It is usually required for basic doctor visits and when purchasing prescription medications.

Out-of-Pocket
This is the cost one would pay out of their own pocket. An out of pocket expense can refer to how much the co-payment, coinsurance, or deductible is. Also, when the term annual out-of-pocket maximum is used, that is referring to how much the insured would have to pay for the whole year out of their pocket, excluding premiums.

Lifetime Maximum
This is the most amount of money the health insurance policy will pay for the entire life. Pay attention to individual lifetime maximums and family lifetime maximums as they can be different.

Exclusions
The exclusions are the things that the insurance policy will not cover.

Pre-existing Conditions
This is something someone had before obtaining the insurance policy. Some plans will cover pre-existing conditions while others may completely exclude them and, in addition, some health insurance plans will cover pre-existing conditions after a certain time period.

Waiting Period
This is the time one would have to wait until certain health insurance coverages are available.

Coordination of Benefits
If the insured has available two or more sources that would cover payment for certain conditions, such being under a spouse's insurance plan along with their own, the insurance company would not pay double benefits. In this case the health insurance company would coordinate benefits to make sure each plan pays a portion of the service.

Grace Period
This is the amount of time one has to pay their health insurance premium after the original due date and before insurance coverage would be canceled.

note to testy comment person

Roger, wilco and out.  ;)

note to testy comment person

Roger, wilco and out.  ;)