After any car accident — from a minor fender bender to a major crash — one of the first questions is: How am I going to get around? What do I do about fixing or replacing my car?

At the Knox Law Center, a preeminent North Carolina law firm with offices in Charlotte and Denver, we help all car accident clients resolve issues relating to property damage and obtaining use of a rental car for immediate transportation needs. We do not charge our clients for this service.

Without help from an experienced car accident lawyer, you may find yourself facing unnecessary delay in the process of getting reimbursed for property damage after a car accident.

When we work with clients who have been accident victims, some of the first actions we take are aimed at securing compensation for property damage and a rental car. Issues we handle include:

• Buying A New Car: North Carolina law only requires insurance companies to reimburse a policyholder for the fair market value of a totaled car, not what the owner may actually owe. In such situations, we negotiate with the car loan company to do what is called a “substitution of collateral.” We attempt to get the lender to take the first car off the loan and put the second car on the loan, so that the car owner still only has one car payment. This saves our clients the inconvenience of dealing with two car loans, and it is tremendous help to clients in difficult economic circumstances who would perhaps not qualify for new car loans to replace totaled vehicles.

Extra Insurance When You Rent A Car: Often, a rental car company will try to sell you extra collision insurance coverage when pick you up the rental car. If you have collision coverage on your own car insurance policy, you do not need to buy extra coverage. Ask your lawyer if you have questions about whether your coverage is adequate during the period of time you are renting a car.

• Securing A Rental Car: Insurance companies usually refuse to provide funds for a rental car until the company has conducted its own investigation into the accident. Often, individuals have difficulty getting copies of the necessary accident reports from law enforcement offices. Depending on the circumstances, we may advise a clients to use a personal credit card to rent a vehicle, which cost will be reimbursed by the insurance company. Another problem arises when an insurance company pays for a rental car for a vaguely defined period of time, like “a reasonable time.” Sometimes, that period of time is only five days. Five days is rarely enough time to organize purchase of a new vehicle. Our lawyers negotiate with the insurance company to extend the length of time for which it will cover the necessary expense of a rental car.