What To Do When Your Car Insurance Company Won’t Pay Up

Car repairs are expensive. Many of us rely on our insurance companies to cover the costs – but what happens if they won’t pay up? It can be extremely frustrating having paid so much money into car insurance, only to be told your claim isn’t covered by their scheme. If this has happened to you, here are some of the actions you should consider taking.

Make a legal claim

There are many reasons as to why a car insurance company may not pay up. It could be something as annoying as a last minute change to their policy that may have been emailed or sent to you in a letter a couple months ago, but you happened to skim over it at the time. You should always do research first to make sure that the insurance company is indeed in their right. If after researching, you still genuinely believe they have made a mistake, it made be time to call in legal help.

A lawyer may be able to help you battle an insurance company in court and get the money you deserve. Alternatively, there may be other ways in which you may be legally entitled to money – for example if you were injured in a car crash. There are many law firms dedicated to injury claims (such as this one www.BrownAndCrouppen.com).

Use a credit hire company

A credit hire company can be a good alternative you use if your insurance company won’t pay after a crash. Credit hire companies can pay for the cost of repairs, as well as car hire in the meantime. They claim back these costs from the other party’s insurance company. By using this service, your insurance company won’t raise your premiums afterwards. However, you should not that a credit hire company may not always be able to claim back money off the other party’s insurance company, which may result in a court battle (if you lose you will have to pay the credit hire company for the repairs and car hire).

Consider scrapping

If a legal claim or credit hire company isn’t possible, you will have to pay for the repairs out of your own pocket. Severe damage can be costly – if your car is not worth much, weigh up whether you are better off paying for the repairs or scrapping your car and getting a new one. Some companies will pay you a small amount to scrap. If you are on a tight budget, it may be your best option.

Take action to lower your insurance premiums

Your first reaction may be to switch insurance companies, which is understandable. However, before you take out another policy, you may want to look into ways of lowering your insurance premiums. As soon as you make a claim, insurance companies will raise your rates, regardless of whether the accident or theft was your fault or not. There are various methods of lowering insurance rates from advanced driver courses to installing anti-theft devices. Consider these first and then shop around until you find the best deal for you (if you can handle it, a black box is a great way of cutting costs!).