Our FL Car Accident Attorneys Explain How to File a Personal Injury Claim With Farmers
When you’ve been injured in an auto accident, you may wonder how to file a car insurance claim. The process isn’t straightforward, and it can be challenging when you’re trying to recover and need to deal with insurance companies. Our guides for filing claims with various insurance companies can help you navigate the process. Here, the experienced car accident attorneys at Spetsas Buist explain how to file a claim with Farmers Insurance and how we can help you with your personal injury claim. 
Understanding Insurance Claims
Make sure you report any car accident to your own insurance provider, even if you’re filing a claim with the at-fault driver’s company. The process is similar, but it’s important to understand what to do regardless of which company you’re filing with. Here, our attorneys discuss both processes to help you understand your options.
Filing a Claim Against the at-Fault Driver
Filing a claim with an at-fault driver’s insurance provider is called a third-party claim. If you are a third-party claimant, you may have to create an account with Farmers to enable easy tracking of the claim’s progress.
Insurance companies may take a while to resolve third-party claims, as they want to investigate the accident and determine if their insured client caused the accident.
Filing a Claim With Your Own Insurance
Depending on the types of damages you’ve suffered and the circumstances of your accident, you may need to file a claim with your own insurance, even if you weren’t at fault. You may need to do so if:
- You’re in a no-fault state. No-fault states like Florida treat personal injury cases (as opposed to property damage) differently than at-fault states. Although at-fault drivers are still liable for property damage, your first line of compensation for injury is your own personal injury protection (PIP) insurance coverage, which all drivers must carry. You can pursue compensation from the at-fault driver if the costs of your injuries exceed your PIP coverage, which is usually $10,000.
- The at-fault driver is underinsured. Underinsured motorist coverage helps you cover the costs of an accident if the at-fault driver is underinsured or uninsured.
- You have a car loan balance. If your leased car is totaled and you still have a balance on the loan, file a claim with your gap insurance to cover the balance.
Whether you’re filing a third-party claim or filing a claim with your own insurance, don’t wait to submit the claim. It’s easy to forget important details of the accident if you wait too long.
Make Your Claim as Strong as Possible
The costs of property damage and medical attention for injuries can be high, so it’s important to take the following steps to help strengthen your claim to obtain fair compensation:
- Gather evidence. Evidence from the scene of the accident is an essential part of preparing your case. If you can move safely after the crash, take photos or videos of the area and any damage or injuries. Gather the involved driver’s contact and insurance information, and ask witnesses for contact information. Call law enforcement to the scene so there will be a police report, which you may need later.
- Seek immediate medical attention. The stress hormones released during the accident might prevent you from feeling any pain, so it’s important to see a doctor as soon as possible. They can help ensure you don’t miss signs of serious injury that need to be addressed immediately. Doing so will also help you connect your injuries to the accident.
- Keep careful records. You can strengthen your claim with evidence from the accident, medical records, doctor notes, the police report, and pay stubs (if you seek compensation for missed work).
Your Florida Car Accident Insurance Claim With Farmers
Farmers Insurance states that you can file your claim in five minutes or less in their claims center. You can file online, through the Farmers app, or by calling their claims department. A claims representative will review your claim and reach out to you for more details.
You can use your own local shop for repairs or choose a shop from Farmers’ network of highly trained repair facilities, and Farmers offers options for rental cars while you’re waiting on repairs. You’ll have options for payment, including reimbursement for paying the shop yourself or having Farmers pay the shop directly.
How Spetsas Buist Can Help You
Insurance adjusters are trained to get you to make statements that can be used against you to reduce the value of your personal injury claim. When you hire Spetsas Buist, you won’t have to deal with insurance adjusters alone. We’ll be there to manage the communication with them so you avoid mistakes that can hurt your case.
