Car Accidents in Chicago, Illinois After a car accident that caused damage to your car, you may be left without transportation when your vehicle is totally destroyed or is being repaired. In these types of situations, you're probably wondering how to get a rental car and who will be responsible for paying the fees. While you wait for your vehicle to be changed or repaired, you'll need a way to get around. Car rental costs can also quickly become expensive when you need to continue renting the vehicle for a week or more.
If the other driver was at fault for causing your accident, your insurance company should be responsible for paying the costs of your rental car until your vehicle is repaired or until you have received the fair market value of your total vehicle. The at-fault driver's insurance company must also pay the rental costs of a vehicle similar to yours that was damaged or destroyed in the accident. For example, if you were driving an SUV, the insurance company can't get away with paying just the rent of a compact car. While it may seem like the process should be simple when you weren't at fault, getting reimbursed for car rental costs is often more difficult.
Ideally, the at-fault driver's insurance company should immediately assume responsibility for the accident and agree to pay for the rental vehicle. However, insurance companies often contest liability, which means that they may not agree to pay the costs of renting the car right away. Unless your vehicle was damaged by the other driver in a rear-end collision, you can expect that the other driver's insurance company will challenge your insured's liability or the degree of fault each of you had in the collision. These are some of the most frequently asked questions people have about refunds for rental vehicles after an accident.
On the other hand, if your insurance policy doesn't include coverage for a rental car, the situation will be different when the other insurance company denies liability or doesn't make an immediate decision on your claim. In that case, you can pay the costs of your rental vehicle yourself or you can charge them to your credit card. This can be risky because you won't be reimbursed for your rental fees if it's not determined that the other motorist was at fault. If the other driver is found to be at fault for your collision, the driver's insurance company will have to reimburse you for the expenses of renting the car and other damages.
However, the claim process can be lengthy. If you and the other party discuss which of you was responsible for the accident, it could be months before your claim is resolved. If the other driver's insurance company agrees to pay for your rental vehicle, you can usually continue using it until the vehicle is repaired or the insurance company pays you the full value of the vehicle. However, you will need to check the laws in your jurisdiction and the policies of the insurance company, as they may vary.
To protect yourself, be sure to document all communications you have with the insurance company. Ask the insurance adjuster to contact you in writing, if possible, so that you can keep the communications as evidence. You can also choose to hire an attorney to help you recover damages for your accident and your losses. Your lawyer can demand your property losses and car rental rates, in addition to the losses caused by your injuries.
When a lawyer submits a demand letter, this could prompt the insurance company to act. If you receive a settlement offer for your injury claim, read it carefully to ensure that you won't give up your rights to property damage and car rental rates. Your lawyer will explain the settlement offer to you and help you determine if it is reasonable or not. If that happens, you can file a claim with your insurance company if you have rental car coverage.
Then, your insurance company can ask the at-fault driver's insurance company to reimburse you for the amounts you paid, as well as your deductible. If that happens, your company will reimburse you for the deductible. Hiring an experienced lawyer could help you recover your rental car reimbursement for your collision much faster. The lawyers at Lamber Goodnow have years of experience in accident claims and understand how to pressure insurance companies to act faster.
Your lawyer can also help you obtain compensation for your other economic and non-economic losses, in addition to car rental rates and property damage. Consulting with an attorney as soon as possible after your car accident is the best way to protect yourself. Your lawyer can start pressuring the at-fault driver's insurance company to recover compensation for you. If you don't already include car rental reimbursement in your insurance policy, it's a good idea to add this type of coverage to protect yourself from future accidents.
Car rental coverage won't add an excessive cost to your insurance premiums and can help protect you in similar situations. Nogales, Arizona 520-394-4733420 West Mariposa Road, Suite 200 Nogales, AZ 85621 Reno, Nevada 775-386-6155300 E. Lamber is only licensed in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois and New York. Goodnow is licensed in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New York and Washington D.C.
Matters outside of these jurisdictions are handled by Fennemore Craig, P, C. Past results, including verdicts and settlements, are not indicative or predictive of future results or results. Every case is different and the results of the case depend on the unique facts, circumstances and applicable laws involved in a given matter. Every case involves a risk, including the risk of loss.
There are never guarantees about the outcome of cases. It is possible for any case to end in a loss, regardless of what has happened in other cases in the past. Cases cannot be handled by M. Okay, now; instead, other lawyers from the firm can be assigned to deal with the matter or, with the client's consent, the firm can partner with lawyers from outside law firms to deal with the matter.
Cases are managed and handled by lawyers in the appropriate jurisdiction. Marc Howard Lamber (“Marc Lamber”) is licensed to practice law only in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois and New York. Goodnow III is licensed to practice law only in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New York and the District of Columbia (inactive). Matters outside of these jurisdictions are handled by lawyers from the firm licensed in the appropriate jurisdiction or by lawyers from associated law firms licensed in the appropriate jurisdiction.
We may partner or jointly advise on certain matters with lawyers who are not part of our firm. When this occurs, there is generally no additional fee charged for involving another law firm or lawyer; more specifically, the percentage of contingent fees generally remains the same (otherwise, it will be disclosed to the client and an addition to the majority agreement between lawyer and client will be required). In this situation, the associate attorney can act as lead counsel in the matter. In the event of a related matter, the fees will be shared between Fennemore Craig P, C.
And the partner law firm, in an amount disclosed to the client in the attorney-client agreement or in another written form. As required by ethical control standards, Fennemore Craig P, C. And the partner law firm will continue to be jointly responsible for the matter. Even when a matter is related and the associate law firm acts as lead counsel, clients can always contact Fennemore Craig P, C.
To find out about the status of your issue. The information contained on this website has been prepared for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is provided only as general information that may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. This information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship, and receiving it does not constitute an attorney-client relationship and is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state.
Legal advice should take into account the specific facts of your situation and you should not draw any particular conclusion from the information presented here. You should seek professional legal advice before acting on the basis of the information contained on this website. However, before you send us information, talk to one of our lawyers and get the authorization to send us that information. Any information that is provided to us before we have conducted a conflict of interest check and before we have committed to representing you is not subject to attorney-client privilege nor is it confidential for any other reason and, consequently, we can use it for any purpose.
However, the use of Internet email for confidential or sensitive information is discouraged, and we ask that you first talk to us by phone about the nature of the information you plan to send by this means. This website contains information on the general or common rules that apply in some states. This website also contains information about verdicts or settlements in previous cases. You cannot assume that the same rules apply, or that the same result would occur, in your state or in any particular state.
The materials on this site have been prepared by Fennemore Craig. This site is a purely public resource for general information that is intended, but is not guaranteed, to be correct and complete. It is not intended to be a source of legal solicitation or advice. The publications are not legal requests or advice and are for informational purposes only.
This information is not intended to create and receiving it does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. The reader should not rely on or act on the information on this site without seeking professional legal advice. If you would like Fennemore Craig to consider representing you, please contact the firm directly. The authors of this site are licensed in the states of Arizona, Nevada and Colorado.
The authors provide and will provide links to other websites for lawyers and other legal sources related to various topics, but the authors do not intend such links to be employment references. In addition, the authors cannot guarantee the veracity or accuracy of those sites. The authors do not wish to represent anyone who has viewed this site in a state where the site does not comply with all laws and ethical standards of that state. The authors grant readers permission to link to this site, as long as this site is not misrepresented.
The authors will remove any link to any site from this site at the request of the linked entity. This site is not sponsored by or associated with any other site unless you identify yourself as such. I) the professional must make every reasonable effort to identify and determine all relevant facts and cannot base the opinion on any “unreasonable factual assumption”; II) the professional must relate the applicable law, including “any potentially applicable judicial doctrine”, to the relevant facts; iii) with very limited exceptions, the opinion must consider all “important federal tax issues” and reach a conclusion about the likelihood that the taxpayer will prevail on the merits of each one of these issues (or if a conclusion cannot be reached, it should be indicated in the opinion); Iv) the professional must reach a “general conclusion” as to the probability that the stated federal tax treatment of the agreement or transaction will be the appropriate treatment and state the reasons for that conclusion; and V) if any of the various conditions apply to the opinion, the professional must “prominently disclose those conditions”. Then, your insurance company will seek to subrogate the other motorist's policy to recover what you pay for your rental car.
If your insurance company is successful, it will reimburse any deductibles you had to pay from your recovery to the at-fault driver's insurance company. Your insurance company will pay the rental costs of the car and will request reimbursement from the other driver's insurance company. On the other hand, if your insurance policy doesn't include rental car coverage, the situation will be different when the other insurance company denies liability or doesn't make an immediate decision on your claim. Be sure to keep the receipts for all the amounts you paid out of pocket after your insurer's rental vehicle coverage period ends.
In some cases, that will be enough for the insurance company to agree to pay the costs of renting the car. .
Leave a Comment