Reader question:

If I get into a car insurance accident, and it is partially my own fault, and partially the fault of the other driver, then am I still going to be compensated in any way?

Rick

Thank you for asking, Rick.

This depends on what state you are in, because different states have different laws when it comes to things such as dividing up the negligence. Percentage always plays a big part in the division, but in some states it is more important than others. It is important to know ahead of time which state you are in, so you can call up your state’s department of insurance to find out what the laws and regulations are concerning situations in which each driver is at least somewhat at fault. While having this knowledge ahead of time is not likely to make you not get into an accident, it is still helpful so that you are not unpleasantly surprised while you are in the heat of the moment.

There are basically two different ways that negligence is taken care of in dual fault accidents.

• Comparitive negligence.

This is where you will get compensated, even if the car insurance accident was in part caused by you. The basic idea of comparitive negligence is that each person’s car insurance company pays for the damages of the other person to the extent that their policy holder was at fault.

Let me break it down.

If you get into an accident, there will be a long investigation into determining how much each person is at fault. If it turns out that you are only 30% at fault, then the other person’s car insurance company will pay you 70% of your damages, while your own car insurance company will pay the other person 30% of the damages. To some, this may not seem fair if they were only a little bit of the cause, but in comparitive negligence states, that is how it is.

• Contributory negligence.

In a few states, there is a law that states if you were at fault for a certain amount of the accident, then you cannot be given compensation for your injuries and damages. This is often called 49% or 50% negligence, because it means that if you have that amount of negligence attributed to you, then you are not compensated.

One thing that you have to keep in mind during the whole business is that, like any other process involved in car insurance accidents, figuring out the percentages of negligence is a subjective business. You might be offered a certain percentage, but you can negotiate it down the same way you can negotiate your car insurance claim up. If you aren’t happy with the amount of negligence that has been assigned to you, then you can either negotiate by yourself, get an attorney, or provide documentation proving that the amount is not right.

In the end, your assigned percentage point plays quite a bit into how big your car insurance claim check is going to be. This is why as much attention needs to be paid towards negotiating the negligence as is paid to negotiating the actual claim offer.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.