A car accident can disrupt your daily life and especially annoying if you’re not the one at fault. Part of that is due to the insurance process involved, especially when trying to recover claims from the at-fault driver or their insurers.
Recovery in insurance means getting the money back from the at-fault driver to pay for damages. First, you’ll try to settle with the driver to compensate you for the repairs, or your insurer might do the recovery on your behalf. Finally, you can engage a recovery service, typically a law firm, to handle the issue for you.
The recovery process can be pretty tricky, and that’s why we’re here to help you out. This guide will walk you through the process of third-party insurance recovery to understand what needs to be done if the situation ever arises.
What Are Recoveries in Insurance?
Generally, the term ‘recovery’ in insurance refers to getting money back from the at-fault party to pay for the damages they caused.
In the case of third-party auto insurance, that means recovering money from whoever caused the accident to pay for the damages to your vehicle. Part of that money might come from their insurance policy (if they have third-party coverage) or personal funds.
For example, let’s suppose someone hit your car on the road. Of course, you’ll take your vehicle to the mechanic to get it repaired when that happens. In some cases, you might even have to pay for those repairs upfront before you file a claim.
However, you’re not the one responsible for that damage. So, what do you do?
Instead of footing the repair bill by yourself or filing a claim with your auto insurance provider, the at-fault party should be the one paying for your repairs.
Getting back the repair money from the at-fault party is known as ‘recovery’.
Other Terms Related to Recovery in Insurances
In the insurance industry, the term 'recovery' also goes with 'subrogation' or 'subrogated claims recovery'.
Subrogation means giving someone else the right to perform that recovery from the at-fault party instead of having to do it yourself.
No matter who does it or how they do it, the bottom line is this: recovery is about getting the funds from the guilty party.
Who Performs Insurance Recoveries?
When someone causes injuries or damages to you with their vehicle, you’re the ‘third party’ in the situation. The first party is the one with the car insurance policy. The second party is the insurance company that provides them with the coverage.
So, let’s revisit our earlier example. Let’s say someone hits your car, and you’ve had to pay for the damages. Of course, you have every right to recover those funds from the at-fault party, but who does the actual work of performing that insurance recovery?
You’ll find the answer in the next section.
How Does Third-Party Insurance Recovery Work?
There are three possibilities as to who performs the insurance recovery:
- Yourself: Firstly, you can perform the recovery yourself. That process will involve working closely with the at-fault party to ensure that they pay for the damage they cause. If they have third-party coverage, they’ll file a claim with their insurance provider.
- Your insurance company: In some cases, your insurance provider might be able to perform the recovery on your behalf. Of course, this will depend on the policy terms that you have with them. You’ll file a claim with them, and they will then deal with the at-fault party or their insurance provider to recover the amount on your behalf.
- An insurance recovery service: Another option you can explore is an insurance recovery service. These are typically law firms that will act on your behalf in the recovery process to ensure that you’re compensated fairly for the injuries and damages you’ve suffered.
Why Is Third-Party Insurance Recovery a Good Option for Everyone?
As you saw above, you generally have two options for third-party insurance recovery: doing it yourself or getting someone else to do it on your behalf.
Unfortunately, resolving the situation privately with the at-fault driver does come with several significant downsides, like:
- Requires cooperation: First and foremost, dealing with the at-fault driver can be quite frustrating if they’re not cooperative. They could give you the run-around and avoid you, or they might have a long list of reasons why they can’t pay you. Plus, you could waste a lot of time waiting on them to file a third-party claim with their insurer.
- Requires effort: Secondly, doing things yourself involves plenty of effort. In other words, you’ll likely have to put up with headaches when it comes to dealing with the at-fault driver and filing whatever paperwork is necessary.
- Takes time: Lastly, both of the points above will likely take a lot of time. You’re just like everyone else, with a job or a business to run and other daily responsibilities to worry about. Performing an insurance recovery yourself could burn up a lot of time that you don’t have.
Considering all the above, letting someone else handle the recovery could be better. That will make life easier for you, and it’ll also do the same for the at-fault driver and anyone else involved.
Benefits of Insurance Recovery Service
Depending on your situation, you might get your insurance provider or a recovery service to handle everything on your behalf. Here’s why that’s a better option for everyone involved, especially yourself:
- Less friction: Firstly, you won't have to interact with the at-fault driver directly. That means you won't have to worry about any friction, seeing as how there's another party handling the recovery process on your behalf.
- Saves time: Secondly, the recovery process becomes much more efficient. Whether it’s your insurer or a legal firm handling the recovery, they’ll be very familiar with the process and can get it done more efficiently than anyone else. Overall, that’ll cut down on the time the process takes.
- Saves effort: Thirdly, it’ll save you plenty of effort. To put it simply, your daily schedule won’t be disrupted much because someone else is handling the recovery for you.
- Avoids mistakes: Remember that the people handling your recovery process are professionals who are familiar with the process. That also means they’re less likely to make mistakes and can avoid common pitfalls in the entire process.
Whatever the case, it’s always best to consult your insurance provider for guidance.
Check out the car insurance section in our blog to learn more about auto insurance and common problems facing Aussie drivers today!
By Ray Hasbollah