FAQs

The first step when purchasing car insurance in Massachusetts is to determine what kind of coverage you need: personal injury protection, liability, collision, or comprehensive. For reference:

• Personal injury protection (or no-fault): Covers your medical expenses and 75 percent of missed wages up to $8,000.
• Liability: Protects you financially after an accident you were at fault for. Injured individuals may seek compensation through your liability coverage.
• Collision: Covers the cost of repairing your vehicle or replacing your totaled vehicle after an accident. 
• Comprehensive: Covers accident damage and unrelated damage, such as “acts of God” (usually weather), theft, vandalism, etc.

Once you have decided which type of coverage to purchase, you can use an online tool to compare costs between companies. You can then purchase a policy online, over the phone, or by visiting an insurance office. If you need advice on how to purchase auto insurance in Massachusetts, schedule a call with CarAccident.Law. We are here to help.

To file a an auto insurance claim in Massachusetts, simply call your insurance company and tell your agent what happened and when. They may instruct you to take your car to a certain shop for repairs or evaluation. Send them any documentation you have via email, write down the case number you are assigned, and provide them with the insurance details and contact information from the other driver(s). It is best to let an attorney complete these steps to ensure your right to compensation is protected, as some insurance agents intentionally manipulate conversations with injured individuals to lower the value of their claims and avoid payouts.

After you file a claim for a car accident, your insurance premium will most likely go up, unless your policy includes accident forgiveness. Accident forgiveness does not mean that all costs associated with an accident are forgiven, but that an accident will not be factored in when the insurance company calculates your premium. If you do not have accident forgiveness, your premium may increase by as much as 70 percent, though the national average is 45 percent, according to Forbes.

The average cost of car insurance in Massachusetts is around $100 per month. That said, your car insurance premium may be more or less depending on certain factors like good student discounts, previous accidents, or programs such as “safe driver discounts.” Your age and gender can also impact the amount you pay for auto insurance – men and anyone under 25 years of age tend to pay more.

What happens if your car accident claim exceeds the limits of your insurance policy depends on whether someone else was at fault for the accident. If someone else was at fault for an accident, and your costs exceed your own personal injury protection coverage, you may be able to sue them for the remaining costs. 

Filing a car accident lawsuit for remaining, uncovered accident-related losses can be made easier with the help of an experienced attorney. Fortunately, CarAccident.Law can connect you with the right legal counsel for your situation so you have one less thing to worry about.

The financial responsibility after a car accident could fall on a few different parties, depending on your state and the facts of your case. If you live in a no-fault state, each driver files a claim through their own insurance regardless of who caused the accident. If you live in an at-fault state, you may be able to file a third-party claim through the at-fault driver’s insurance company. However, if a fair settlement cannot be reached and you need to file a personal injury lawsuit, the at-fault driver may end up paying out of their own pocket to compensate you for your accident related losses.

Some states require you to file a claim through your own insurance before you can file a car accident lawsuit. In any case, it is generally a good idea to consult with a car accident lawyer right away, as they have more experience dealing with auto insurance claims and can correspond with the insurance company and answer their questions for you. 

However, if your lawyer and the insurance company are unable to come to an agreement on a fair settlement amount, a car accident lawsuit may be the best next step. Your attorney can submit the proper filings to the appropriate court within the statutory deadline on your behalf.

Once your lawyer files your car accident injury lawsuit, there is a “discovery” process where both sides share their evidence, which may include dash cam footage, police reports, medical records, photos taken after the accident, and more. You may also have to give a deposition, during which the defendant’s lawyer would ask you questions about the accident under oath.

After depositions, there will typically be a mediation period where both sides try one more time to settle outside of court. Car accident lawsuits rarely go to trial, but an attorney in our network would not hesitate to take your case to court if an agreement could not be reached.

The average settlement in a car accident lawsuit is around $20,000, but the amount you may be entitled to depends on the circumstances of your accident. The cost of your medical bills, damage to property, and any wages lost during recovery time all factor into the amount a person might get from a car accident lawsuit. In a car accident injury lawsuit, unlike an insurance settlement, you may also be able to collect damages for emotional distress and pain and suffering. 

Car accident lawsuits can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few years to settle, depending on the facts of the case. For example, if your injuries from the accident are extensive, you may need to wait for your treatment to be fully completed before the lawsuit can move forward, simply because there needs to be a final total for your medical bills. Information or evidence you provided may also be disputed by the defense, which can also delay the car accident lawsuit process.