Auto Insurance: Why do I have to pay a deductible?

There are many different scenarios to consider when filing a claim for your damaged automobile.

If your car was damaged and you don’t know how it was damaged (either it was hit while parked and unattended, vandalized or damaged by nature) you would need to file a claim under your collision or comprehensive insurance. A deductible would apply the amount (which would be determined when you purchased your policy). In this case, you would be responsible for the amount of the deductible and you would need to pay that amount directly to your repair shop. A deductible would apply to each incident.

If you were involved in an accident with another vehicle there are one of three different scenarios.
1. It is 100% your fault.
2. It is 100% the other parties fault .
3. There is comparative negligence-both parties contribute to the accident.

In the first case, you would file a claim under your own insurance policy and you would be responsible for the amount of your deductible.

In the second case you have a choice: you file a claim under your own insurance policy OR you can file a claim under the other party’s policy in which case said company pays the entire amount to fix your car because you don’t have a policy with that company that pre-determined a deductible.
Or you could file a claim with your own insurance company and you would need to pay your deductible. However, in most cases your insurance company would “subrogate” against the other party’s policy for the entire amount of the repair including the deductible which you laid out. It would then be forwarded to you. This could take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a up to a year in some cases.

In the third case with comparative negligence, you again have a choice to use your policy or the other party’s policy. However, if you use your company and they then subrogate, they would retrieve only the percentage amount of which you are determined to be at fault. If you elect to file a claim under the other party’s policy, then you would collect the amount to repair your vehicle based on your percentage of liability.

As an auto body facility in Ozone Park, NY, SOS Auto Body will handle the auto insurance companies for you and get your car back to its pre-accident condition as quickly and easily as possible.