Car accident / road collision in Germany, Austria, Switzerland
- As a person injured through no fault of my own, can I use help of the independent expert?
If a car accident or collision, in which you were injured through no fault of your own, took place on the territory of Germany, you have the right to choose an independent car expert who will value the damage and provide the technical appraisal in the German language.
- As a person injured through no fault of my own, do I have the right to use the legal help of a lawyer?
If the road accident that was not your fault took place on the territory of Germany, you have the right to choose a German-speaking lawyer to whom you shall entrust your interests in the process of settling the claim.
- As an injured person, do I have to cover the legal expenses and costs of expertise myself?
In case of non-culpable damages, the German, Austrian and Swiss law stipulates that the expertise costs and legal aid expenses are generally included within the scope of damage. Thus, there is a possibility to cover the costs directly by the insurance company of the offending driver. Then the insurer of the offending driver covers the expertise costs directly or reimburses the injured person if the injured person independently paid legal expenses and covered expertise costs.
- How long does it take to provide the technical review by the MOTOEXPERT’s expert?
In case of passenger vehicles, the post-accident technical opinion is provided normally within maximum 7 working days – from the date of ordering. In case of damages of trucks, coaches and buses the completion deadline is generally longer, which is connected to the necessity of waiting for obtaining the data relating to the cost of replacement parts directly from the manufacturers.
- Is there a possibility to see the technical opinion before its issuance?
Before printing out the complete technical opinion we usually send to each client a document in the PDF format to inspect. The client has a possibility to familiarise themselves with the car expert’s calculation, and in case of any questions or comments regarding the technical opinion it is possible to contact its issuer within maximum 24 hours from the moment of its sending.
- How is the ready technical opinion transferred to the Client?
Fully drawn technical opinion is sent to the Client in the form of a PDF file via electronic mail, and its original (in accordance with the Client’s wishes) is sent in a paper form to the Client, Client’s representative or directly to the insurance company of the offending driver.
- What are the forms of payment for carrying out a technical review by MOTOEXPERT?
The car experts of the MOTOEXPERT provide dual possibility of settling the expertise costs, i.e. costs for providing the post-accident technical opinion. There is a possibility of cash settlement of expertise costs, as well as – in justified cases – the settlement of expertise costs is done based on the so-called assignment of receivables.
- What is the assignment of receivables for the expertise costs?
The assignment of receivables (used exclusively in the cases of non-culpable damages) allows settling the expertise costs directly with the insurance company of the offending driver. Signing by the Client of the document of the assignment of receivables means that at the moment of issuance of technical opinion, the injured party does not have to incur the expertise costs immediately. These costs are usually borne by the insurer of the offending driver. The expertise costs should be paid by the German insurance company within 90 calendar days. The conditions of application of the assignment of receivables is, however, the participation in the case of a lawyer representing the Client in the claim settlement procedure, proposed on our list of lawyers.
- Will I have to independently cover the expertise costs?
The MOTOEXPERT network may require the payment of expertise costs from the Client (i.e. the party ordering the service) only in two cases:
- in the case of a prolonged duration of claim settlement procedure (over 90 days) – then the expertise costs incurred by the Client are generally refunded to the injured person by the insurance company of the offending driver
- after issuing by the insurer of the offending driver a negative decision regarding payment of compensation
- How to place an order with MOTOEXPERT?
At first the telephone contact with the head office of MOTOEXPERT is necessary, notifying of the damage. This notification, however, is not obligatory for the injured person, as opposed to the sent ordering form. Ordering forms each time are transferred by the Clients in a written form via fax or electronic mail (e-mail).
