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Unfortunately, a car accident happened incredibly quickly. In the driving school you usually learn what you have to think about and that you should keep a cool head, but in practice it turns out to be more difficult than expected. That is why we explain here what has to be observed both from the point of view of the injured party and from the point of view of the person who caused the accident.
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We have the following text Guide »Moved Out? The Naked Truth« removed. → It’s all about this: With your first apartment of your own and your first »real« salary, you are faced with completely new questions. We asked young professionals, students and trainees what was on their minds and thought about what we would have liked to know when we left home. From understanding payroll to rent deposit, car license plate number, buying shares, filing tax returns to keeping things in order, there were many wishes and questions that we would like to answer in this book. table of contents | Excerpt (PDF) | Shop |
One of the most important things to say in advance and that you should keep reminding yourself, even if it’s annoying: It’s just tin!
You are injured
If you’re unlucky enough to have someone hit your car, there are a few things to clarify. do you call the police Do you let the incident run through the insurance company or do you and the person who caused the accident come to an agreement without insurance?
Both of these questions depend on the extent of the damage to your car and whether the person who caused the accident takes the blame or completely denies it. From my own experience, however, it is always better if you call the police. As an injured party, you will receive a copy of the accident report, which both parties have signed, as soon as the accident has been recorded by the police.
The report is not mandatory, but recommended. The following information is required by law for you and the other party involved in the accident and must be provided:
In addition to the required data, you should also take precautionary pictures of the damage to both cars for documentation for the insurance company, should they ask. Before you can have the damage repaired in your garage, an expert will take pictures and provide a cost estimate. Insurance companies often have cooperation agreements with appraisers, who usually decide in favor of the insurance company. It is therefore an advantage if you hire your own expert. Your garage then sends the cost estimate to the other party’s insurance company, so that everything else can be arranged.
If more than just metal has been damaged and you are absent from work for more than six weeks due to the accident, you can assert the resulting loss of earnings as a claim against the liability insurance of the person who caused the accident. Your last payslip serves as the basis for calculating your loss of earnings,
You are the cause of the accident
If you are to blame for the accident, you should also take pictures of the damage to both cars as a precautionary measure for documentation for the insurance company.
Depending on the extent of the damage, you should consider whether you should consult your insurance company to settle the damage or pay for it yourself. Because as soon as your fully comprehensive insurance takes over a claim, it can happen that you are downgraded in the no-claims class (SF). How and from when an insurance company downgrades the no-claims class is at the discretion of the insurance company and is not regulated uniformly.
You also have the option of “buying back” the damage within a certain period of time after the insurance company has taken over the costs. Therefore, you can simply pay your insurance company back the costs they have covered for you in order to avoid downgrading the SF and increasing the insurance premiums. In order to be able to better assess to what extent your SF will change as a result of the assumption of costs and the contributions will increase, you can also ask your insurance company whether it is worth buying back.
Another way to avoid getting insurance coverage is if you and the injured party can come to an agreement without insurance. This can be useful, for example, in the case of minor damage such as a damaged exterior mirror that does not cost thousands of euros.
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We have this text Guide »Moved Out? The Naked Truth« removed. → It’s all about this: With your first apartment of your own and your first »real« salary, you are faced with completely new questions. We asked young professionals, students and trainees what was on their minds and thought about what we would have liked to know when we left home. From understanding payroll to rent deposit, car license plate number, buying shares, filing tax returns to keeping things in order, there were many wishes and questions that we would like to answer in this book. table of contents | Excerpt (PDF) | Shop |
