Learn What To Do If Someone Steals Your Car And Totals It
What happens when someone steals your car and then totals it in a bad accident? Are you responsible for the damage that they caused to your vehicle? What about the damage that was caused to whatever they ran into since they were operating your vehicle? Most people do not know the answers to these questions and would have no idea what to do if they were put in this situation. The following guide walks you through the things that you need to do if someone steals your car and then gets into an accident in it.
Call the Police and Report the Situation
There are times when friends or family members take someone's car as a joke or out of anger. When this happens, some people find it hard to report the car as being stolen because they do not want the person who was driving the car to get into trouble. If someone steals your car and totals it, you have to report the incident to the police, if you want the insurance company to pay for any of the damage.
Contact an Accident Attorney
Before you contact your insurance company, you need to hire an auto accident attorney. The accident attorney will be able to help you assess what your true damages are so that you can then know what amount is fair when the insurance company pays for the damage.
When you go to court for the stolen vehicle, having an attorney to fight to show that you did not give permission for the person to drive your vehicle is also important. The attorney will be able to fight for the driver to be held responsible for all damage that was caused when they were driving.
Contact the Insurance Company
Once you have an attorney that knows the ins and outs of the case, you can have them handle contacting the insurance company for you. They will be able to fight with the isnraucn company to make sure that they do not give you a low offer. You do not have to accept the first offer the company offers you. The attorney will even fight for you to get more money from the insurance company in court if they fight to not pay what you deserve.
It will take time for everything to be worked out after someone steals your car and totals it. You will need to get a rental car until the situation is resolved so that you can then use the money that you get from the insurance company to buy a replacement car.