Motor vehicle insurance is a legal requirement if you want to drive, and it is also your primary form of protection against the financial devastation often possible after a motor vehicle collision. Every driver in Oklahoma is subject to state laws mandating liability insurance coverage that will apply should they cause a crash.
Most people never expect to make use of their coverage because they assume that they can indefinitely avoid collisions. You may not be particularly familiar with your own coverage, let alone the rules that apply to crash-related claims.
What can you expect insurance to cover after a collision in Oklahoma?
When you are at fault, your policy applies
Your policy will primarily protect you from liability. It will pay for the cost to repair someone’s vehicle after a crash or cover someone’s medical expenses and even lost wages if their injuries leave them out of work for some time.
You can rely on your coverage to protect you from financial responsibility, at least up to the policy limits for your coverage. Even if the other party has expenses that are higher than the available coverage, the insurance company will only pay out, at the most, what you paid for when purchasing or renewing your policy. Adding more coverage to your policy can protect you from a lawsuit related to insufficient coverage later.
When the other driver’s policy applies
If you aren’t the one to blame for the wreck, then the other driver’s insurance will help cover your expenses. Using their car insurance can be a smart choice, as it won’t pass on costs to you the way that health insurance might.
When you want to make a claim against someone else’s policy, you can potentially seek reimbursement for any verifiable economic losses related to injury or property damage caused by the crash. If the other driver doesn’t have much insurance, which is possible because the state only requires certain minimum amounts, you may have to consider filing a lawsuit in combination with your insurance claim to recoup expenses that go beyond what insurance will pay.
Lawsuits are often necessary when a driver doesn’t have insurance as well. Learning more about the liability-based insurance system in Oklahoma can help that trying to properly respond to a recent motor vehicle collision.