If you were struck and injured by someone who carries USAA insurance, you should talk to a lawyer. Trusting an insurance company to give you enough to pay your medical bills in full isn’t a chance you should take. A lawyer can protect you from false accusations and low settlement offers that save car insurance companies thousands of dollars.
However, if your accident only involves property damage, you may be fine handling your case yourself. Getting compensated for car repairs has become a pretty standard process in the insurance industry.
If you will be handling your case yourself, here’s a guide on filing a claim with USAA and how to avoid tactics meant to leave you with less.
Filing a Car Accident Claim with USAA Insurance
USAA allows accident victims to file accident claims on their phones with an app or on its website. There’s a separate page for filing a claim when you aren’t a member. This page would be used if you were struck by a driver with USAA coverage.
USAA recommends that victims file a claim after any accident involving injuries or damage to someone’s vehicle. If you caused damage to public property, it’s also a good idea to file a claim. If you are a member, USAA suggests filing a claim, no matter who was at fault in your accident.
When you file, you’ll want to start with this information:
- Date of accident
- Address where the accident occurred
- The number of vehicles involved in the crash
- A basic account of what happened
- A description of the damage to your vehicle
- The at-fault driver’s USAA Membership Number
- The at-fault driver’s name
- The at-fault driver’s car’s make and model
Having contact information from witnesses will also help.
What Are the Steps in the USAA Car Accident Claims Process?
After providing basic information, you’ll be on your way to hopefully being reimbursed for your damages. In some cases, you may not have to provide any more information. But with more serious accidents, the adjuster will be investigating your accident and will probably need more information from you.
- Your case is automatically assigned to a claims adjuster.
- The adjuster contacts you for more information if necessary
- An in-person estimate on damage may be needed
- Once a claim is approved, victims can work with “STARS” repair shops, which are contracted with USAA
- Victims can also choose their own repair shop
- You can log in to USAA to check the status of your claims or the repairs at any time
USAA advises that working with “STARS” offers certain benefits. Your repair check can go directly to the repair shop after the car’s refurbishment is complete. There’s also a limited warranty on the repairs. These repair shops are usually paired with an Enterprise car rental business or one nearby.
If you use your own repair shop, but the repairs are higher than USAA’s estimates, the insurer wouldn’t pay you more.
The California Department of Insurance offers a helpful guide for people going through the claims process after a car accident.
What If USAA Totals My Vehicle After an Accident?
USAA explains that your car may be “totaled” if the cost to repair it is more than the vehicle is worth. It may also be totaled if it can’t be repaired to a level that makes it safe to drive.
If USAA tells you your car is beyond repair. You should take a few important steps.
- Remove your belongings from the car
- Remove the license plates (you’ll surrender them to the California DMV)
- Grant the repair shop or towing service permission to release your vehicle. This can help you avoid storage fees.
- Be ready to release the title. You may have it, or your lender may still retain possession. Your lender would need to release it with your permission.
USAA would provide you with the value of your car before it was damaged. The company says it uses a database tool that looks at similar vehicles for sale in your area when determining the price. Your car’s mileage, condition, and options also factor in.
Insurance Tactics to Beware of When Filing Accident Claims with USAA
USAA makes filing a claim and getting repairs look very simple. But when injuries are involved, cases become much more complex. Those rising medical bills are also a signal to USAA to fight harder to avoid blame for a bad driver.
It’s critical that you are fully aware of the severity of your injury and how long you may suffer through recovery. There’s no way to know how much you’ll need in support until you have this information. That would include the estimate for future medical care you could require. It would involve the income you’ll lose for however long you won’t be able to work.
Of course, your insurance adjuster may hope that you aren’t fully aware of any of these factors. They hope you accept the first “lowball” offer they make, so they can leave you with the cost of any additional medical problems that arise.
You may decide you don’t need an experienced lawyer to protect your rights, but there are still things you can look out for when working with USAA to get accident compensation:
- Shifting Blame. Insurance adjusters may try to blame you for an accident you didn’t cause.
- Misrepresenting the Coverage. Insurers may deny your claim by citing some fine print in the policy that may or may not really be there.
- Quick Settlement Offers. Insurers can offer you a small settlement in the first few days before you really know the full effects of a collision.
- Delayed Settlement Offers. Insurers can also delay a settlement on purpose, hoping you get financially desperate enough to accept a “lowball” settlement offer later.
- Misusing Recorded Statements. Taking any recorded statements you give insurance adjusters and twisting your words to damage your case.
- Not Telling You About All the Benefits. Insurers don’t have to tell you about all the benefits that may be available.
Trusting your case to a lawyer, especially if you’ve been injured, can act as a safeguard when insurance adjusters try to blame you or try to discount your injuries. Your lawyer also fully investigates the accident so that the evidence can back up a strong case. Your Maison Law attorney would also have a very good chance of securing much more for you than you could hope to earn on your own.
Discussing Your Insurance Claim with a Skilled California Car Accident Lawyer
If you feel uncertain about whether you need the help of a lawyer to get the most out of your claim, you should contact Maison Law of California for a free consultation. It’s an easy way to discuss your options and stay informed of your rights.
If we can’t help you earn more for your claim, we’ll be upfront with you. But when claims involve serious injuries, like broken bones, neck and back injuries, or brain injuries, it can pay to speak to a lawyer.
You also don’t have to worry about having the money to hire a California car accident lawyer if you need one. Maison Law doesn’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our lawyer’s fee comes out of the settlement money that a car insurance company must hand over to you.
