Car Accident Reference and Atlanta Firm Directory

Vehicle property-damage claims

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Contents
  1. Collision and comprehensive coverage
  2. A claim under the owner's policy
  3. Separate losses and deadlines
  4. Related entries
  5. References

A vehicle damage claim concerns loss involving the vehicle rather than bodily injury. Georgia's insurance regulator distinguishes liability coverage, which pays covered losses to others on an insured's behalf, from physical-damage coverage for the insured's own vehicle. The available route depends on the policy and the circumstances.[1]

Collision and comprehensive coverage

Collision coverage addresses losses associated with vehicle collisions. Comprehensive coverage, also called other-than-collision coverage, addresses losses such as theft, vandalism and fire. Georgia does not require motorists to buy physical-damage coverage, although a lender or leasing company usually requires it for a financed or leased vehicle.[1]

A claim under the owner's policy

The regulator explains that a policyholder may claim under their own physical-damage coverage even when someone else may have caused the crash. That possibility is different from a claim against another driver's liability coverage. A coverage description should identify whose policy is being discussed instead of using "the insurance" for both.[1]

Separate losses and deadlines

Bodily-injury and property losses should not be treated as one deadline merely because they arose in the same crash. Georgia's general statute for injury to personal property provides four years from accrual, while its general personal-injury provision uses two years. Particular claims and exceptions require individual review.[2][3]

References

  1. abc Auto insurance: Georgia coverage requirements. Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire. https://oci.georgia.gov/insurance-resources/auto. official. Checked . Source record
  2. ^ O.C.G.A. 9-3-31: personal-property limitation period. Justia. https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-9/chapter-3/article-2/section-9-3-31/. independent. Checked . Source record
  3. ^ O.C.G.A. 9-3-33: personal-injury limitation period. Justia. https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-9/chapter-3/article-2/section-9-3-33/. independent. Checked . Source record