Getting Your Car Repaired After an Accident in Georgia

Car Repairs After a Georgia Car Crash

Getting your car repaired after an accident in Georgia can be overwhelming, especially if you’re injured and didn’t cause the accident. Here are some steps you can expect throughout the insurance and car repair processes:

• Step one: Notify your insurer and contact a lawyer for help dealing with the insurance company
• Step two: Select an auto repair shop of your choosing to make the car repairs
• Step three: Bring your vehicle to the auto repair shop
• Step four: Follow up with your auto repair shop and the insurance company to cover the costs
• Step five: Confirm that vehicle repairs have been made and pick up your vehicle
• Step six: Collect your insurance settlement to cover the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle

This is just a basic idea of how the car accident car repair process might look for your case. To find out more about the exact steps you should take, be sure to contact your lawyer for more information.

How Insurance Pays for Repairs

Since Georgia follows a fault-based system under O.C.G.A. 33-7-11, instead of filing a claim with your own auto insurance company, you will instead file a claim with the liable party’s insurance company.

However, suppose the liable driver is uninsured or underinsured, and you have purchased personal injury protection coverage as part of your auto policy. In that case, you may also have the opportunity to file a claim with your own auto insurer.

Remember that filing a claim with your own auto insurance company is likely to result in an increase in the total amount of your premiums when it is time to renew. For that reason, be sure to discuss how the insurance claims process will work further with your attorney.

What Will Insurance Cover?

Although the insurance company will be required to cover a victim’s damages after a car accident, the amount and types of coverage the insurance company provides can vary considerably on a case-by-case basis.

The insurance company will only be required to pay out up to the maximum limits of the policyholder’s policy. If the liable party in your case only carried $15,000 in property damage liability coverage, but your property damages exceeded $25,000, the remaining $10,000 would need to be sought after through your Georgia car accident lawsuit.

It is important to keep in mind that the insurance company will likely only cover certain types of economic damages such as medical expenses, property damages, and in some cases, lost wages. Any non-economic damages and other economic damages that the insurance company may not cover can be recovered through your civil claim.

Complications You May Face When Getting Your Car

As if dealing with a car accident claim was not challenging enough, there are also several obstacles that you might face when getting your car repaired in Georgia. One of the most common is the insurance company pressuring you to take your vehicle to be fixed at specific auto repair shop locations.

No matter how much the insurance company tries to make it seem as though you need to use the shop of their choosing, you have the authority to select which repair shop fixes your vehicle.

Georgia Car Accident Repair FAQ

You may have many unanswered questions surrounding the car accident repairs process in Georgia and how to get these costs covered. With this in mind, we have provided answers to some of the more commonly asked repair questions. If you have additional questions, be sure to contact our office.

Should I Document My Repair Records?

If you want to help build the strongest case possible when you get your vehicle repaired, be sure to keep copies of the repair receipts, take photos of the vehicle damage before the repairs, and ask the repair shop to hold onto any damaged parts that could be presented at trial.

What If My Car is Totaled in the Accident?

If your vehicle is totaled, the insurance company will pay out the maximum limits of the policyholder’s property damage liability coverage.

This means you may still not recover total compensation through your insurance claim. Instead, you may need to be prepared to pursue a civil claim to cover the total cost of the value of your vehicle before the accident.

Can I Get a Rental After a Car Accident?

Yes, you should be entitled to a rental car when your vehicle has suffered damage that requires repairs following a car accident in Georgia. The liable party’s auto insurance provider will be responsible for covering these costs on your behalf.

Can You Recommend Repair Shops?

Our team at The Champion Firm can help recommend repair shops that we are familiar within the area. However, sometimes doing research online and reading reviews from other individuals who have also dealt with the repair shops may be the best way for you to find a reputable place to repair your vehicle.

Contact Us for Help

Getting your vehicle repaired or replaced is only one of the tasks you need to deal with following a Georgia car accident. When you need help figuring out how to get through the claims process and secure the compensation you need, reach out to The Champion Firm.

Schedule your no-cost, risk-free consultation when you complete our online contact form or call our office at 404-596-8044.