Getting into an accident with a commercial driver can be an extremely successful experience. You may be worried that a commercial auto insurance carrier and legal team is going to be a lot more hard-nosed about protecting their financial position than other insurers.
Uncertainty about whether you can get an effective remedy and identifying the best way to pursue it can make a difficult situation feel really hard to manage. If you were recently in a minor or major accident with a commercial driver, here are some important things that you should know.
Commercial Drivers Need Commercial Auto Insurance
Personal auto policies commonly exclude coverage for incidents related to the commercial use of a vehicle. In some instances, the insurer for an at-fault driver will refuse to issue policy benefits. These instances end up putting drivers at fault in the situation of having to get restitution from an uninsured motorist. If you are in this position, do not resign yourself to the impossibility of seeking a remedy.
You may pursue the company that a driver works for to recover your damages, and I don’t necessarily have to rely on getting restitution from the individual driver personally. This is more of a legal thing, so you may need help from a commercial vehicle attorney to get in-depth information on how the insurance works; click here to know more. The attorneys will clear your doubts and also inform you about the possibilities of getting the deserving compensation for all your losses. On the other hand, if you’re on the side of the company, you need to hire a commercial litigation service to protect your company.
Commercial Auto Policies May Have Sizable Limits
If the commercial driver you had an accident with was fully insured, be aware that their coverages may be higher than the state minimums for personal auto policy limits. Commercial vehicle leases may require enhanced coverages to offset lessors’ risk, and businesses may independently elect to pursue higher coverage limits. If a policy has a higher limit than you expected, you may be able to get a higher settlement than you reasonably anticipated. A car wreck attorney can give you some guidance about commercial carriers, settlement negotiations, and litigation procedures.
Insurers Do Not Assume a Commercial Driver Is a Better Driver
People who drive vehicles professionally are skilled at what they do, but you should not worry that people will automatically assign blame for an accident to a non-professional driver. People who spend all or a lot of their time behind the wheel are invariably going to be at a greater risk of being in an accident than typical motorists who spend just a moderate amount of time on the road.
Moreover, it’s worth noting that a lot of commercial drivers have to cope with extremely demanding working conditions. With a driver shortage that’s having massive impacts on macro supply chain logistics, the demands on truckers are higher than ever. Professional truckers earn their wages based on the completion of a route rather than the length of time that they spend on the road, so they have a lot of pressure to arrive at their destination as quickly as possible. Understandably, rushed or distracted driving commonly plays a big factor in accidents involving commercial vehicles.
Ultimately, a car accident that causes you to sustain an injury calls for a meaningful remedy. Getting the compensation that you need can make it easier for you to manage the aftermath of an accident and move on.
