The repercussions of an auto collision tend to be talked about from a physical and mental perspective, and that’s reasonable given the short and long-term impacts to health and well-being associated with crashes.
What’s less well understood, and certainly not adequately discussed, is the financial fallout that comes with every car accident, no matter how minor. If you aren’t proactive about dealing with the money side of this equation, the consequences could be dire.
To prevent this eventuality unfolding if you’re caught up in a crash, stick around and take onboard the following steps. Your financial future depends on it.
Documentation of the costs that you accrue after a car accident needs to be collected and kept safe, because this is evidence you’ll need in order to receive an appropriate insurance payout, as well as to make any claims for additional legal compensation later on.
Medical bills are obviously important in this context, and be sure that you ask for itemized versions that dissect the precise costs of the care you receive. This is also helpful for comparing costs against insurance Explanation of Benefits (EOBs) so that accuracy is preserved throughout the process.
Your record keeping efforts also need to extend to any other costs that land in your lap, including automotive repairs, property damage, childcare, and alternative transportation. Keep digital and physical copies of each and every bill to cover all the bases.
If you’ve got auto insurance, you need to be assertive when it comes to wringing the full value from your policy when an accident occurs.
For instance, if PIP cover is included, this is a great way to recoup the financial hit of recovery sooner rather than later. That means you won’t need to wait months before receiving any aid, but can instead begin accessing support to soak up the short-term expenses that are unavoidable in this context.
Should your insurer pump the brakes on paying out on a claim, knowing when to hire a car accident lawyer is your next move. They can step in to deal with the small print and argue on your behalf to ensure that any compensation for which you’re eligible actually gets delivered.
One of the main impacts of a car accident is to your earning potential. If an injury leaves you unable to fulfil your professional role for an extended period, your income could nosedive. Even if your employer has a very generous scheme in place to assist team members facing such scenarios, this won’t keep you in the black indefinitely.
As such, you need to get serious about calculating any wages lost in weeks and months following the accident, in addition to the influence that it has over your future earnings. It’s reasonable to feel that your career trajectory may have been adversely impacted by an auto collision that leaves you with a broken body and a shaken mental state.
Self-employed people may not have a salary to cite, but they do have the ability to estimate the amount of work they’ve lost, or the opportunities that may have slipped through their fingers.
Regardless of your circumstances, keeping a clear and easy to justify calculation of the fallout for your income post-accident makes all the difference for claiming compensation. And since your finances are crucial to overall wellness, this is not something you can put off.
The main point is that it doesn’t take much effort to defend your finances against serious damage if you’re ever involved in a car accident. Keeping hold of paperwork, requesting bills if they’re not forthcoming, and bringing legal experts onboard if insurers don’t play ball will stand you in good stead. You just need the impetus to take this action.
