Car insurance, claiming for loss of wages

Car insurance, claiming for loss of wages.

Have you ever had a car accident? If you have been driving for some years it would be rather remarkable if you have never had some kind of accident. Whatever the case may be, if you have never had an accident, take it from the rest of us, it is a real pain and a complete waste of time. Whether it is a minor scrape or they had to call in CSI to pick up the pieces of your poor little car, accidents are a time consuming beast. This inconvenience only adds to the long list of expenses and general nuisance we must endure  after being involved in an accident. It is not only filling in the claim report, you must include waiting for the police, never ending conversations with your insurance agent, long letters and mountains of paperwork.

You were happily driving down the road when a blind driver smashed into your side after completely ignoring a stop sign and red light. You now have to do all the basics. Check everyone is alright, prioritize injuries, call the police and ambulance service, etc… Apart from the potential loss of life and personal damages, accidents are a prodigious waste of your time.

Of course wasting time is not only a nuisance it also costs money. Depending on your work you might have to either ask your boss for time off or take time off your own business to deal with the minutiae and mind-numbing boredom of insurance bureaucracy.  This will either cost you in loss of wages if you are employed by someone else or a loss in profit for your own business. Can car insurance provide cover for that? Of course it can. This is how it works.

There are three ways you can claim for loss of wages. Interestingly it is not a case of one or the other. If you have planned well you could get yourself a nice bonus from your little accident, and so you should.

Route 1. The obvious source of compensation for loss of wages is the insurance of the driver in the wrong. You were minding your own business driving to work or to pick up the kids when you were plowed down. Why should you pay for the loss in earnings. Make sure you include the claim for loss of wages in your claim to the insurance company.

Route 2. You might have included a loss of wages clause in your own insurance. If you have you don’t need to worry about the other drivers insurance, let your own insurance company sweat the details with them. You paid for that cover with your own insurance and now is the time to reap the benefits of your foresight.

Route 3.  You also might have taken on an independent accident and medical insurance that includes cover for loss of wages. Make sure you claim, after all you paid for it. Whatever you do make sure that the other driver’s insurance doesn’t try to simply cover the difference between your wages and the percentage paid by your personal insurance. Your foresight has nothing to do with their responsibility to cover your loss of wages.