If your car has been damaged in a car crash, you are most likely considering getting a rental car until the at-fault party’s insurance company reimburses the cost of repairing your damaged car or makes an offer of your vehicle’s fair market value if your car has been “totaled” in the accident.
If your car has been damaged or totaled in a car crash in Los Angeles or elsewhere in California, you may be wondering how you will be getting to and from work. In most cases, getting a rental car is the best solution.
While you focus on your medical treatment to recover after the car accident, we invited our car accident attorney in Los Angeles California from the Law Offices of Howard Kornberg to explain how you can get a rental car after a car crash in California and who will reimburse the costs of getting a rental car.
Getting a rental car after a car crash through your own insurance
If you have been in a car crash where the fault is not clear and the opposing party is reluctant to settle your claim, you may have to wait for months to get your car repaired after the car accident.
What many people in California do not realize is that they can get a rental car by using their own insurance. In California, rental car coverage is an option that can be included in your auto insurance policy. Our car accident attorney in Los Angeles explains that the so-called “rental reimbursement” coverage applies when your own car is being repaired after a car crash.
You may want to contact your insurance company to check whether or not the “rental reimbursement” coverage is included in your auto insurance policy. If you do have this type of coverage, you should also check your daily limit for renting a car after a car accident in California. Depending on the daily limit, you can choose a suitable rental car option without having to pay the difference out of your own pocket.
Getting a rental car through the at-fault party’s insurance
“You may also be able to get a rental car through the at-fault party’s insurance company,” says our experienced car accident lawyer in Los Angeles. This is the best way to get a rental car if you do not have the “rental reimbursement” coverage in your auto insurance policy.
However, do keep in mind that this option is applicable only if the other party was at-fault for causing the crash. In order to get a rental car through the at-fault driver’s insurance, you will have to file a claim against that driver.
When the claim is open, a claims adjuster will be assigned to your case and his or her duty will be to arrange a rental car for you and have this rental car paid for. However, it might take a few weeks to get your claim approved and get access to a rental car after a car crash.
If your vehicle has been totaled in a car accident, you may be able to use a paid-for rental car for only a few days, because the at-fault party’s insurance company will have to make you an offer of your vehicle’s fair market value. At this stage, it is paramount that you are represented by a Los Angeles car accident lawyer in order to ensure that insurance companies do not take your rental car away from you and leave you with no means of transportation for weeks or months until you actually get an offer of your car’s fair market value.
Contact our lawyer at the Law Offices of Howard Kornberg to get a free consultation if you want to get a rental car after a car crash in California. Call our offices at 310-997-0904 today.
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