What is bilateral car damage?

Is bilateral car damage covered by insurance?

To find out whether your auto insurance provides coverage for two-sided damage and whether the accident affects your premium and claim-free years depends on a number of things. Who caused the accident? Are you at fault or the other party? What is your car insurance coverage?

Third-party insurance reimburses only the damage you cause to someone else. Limited-casco insurance compensates not only damage caused to others, but also specific damage to your car, such as from hail and storms. All-risk car insurance is the most comprehensive coverage for damage to your own car. If you are the causer of the accident, all-risk insurance will reimburse both the damage to your own car and the damage to the other party's car.

Damage form two-sided damage

After an accident, with bilateral damage, you must fill out a European claim form. To process a claim, the insurer may require a claim form. The claim form must be completed by both parties involved. It is wise to do this, together with the other party, immediately after the accident. This is to avoid misunderstandings. By signing the claim form, you indicate that you agree with what is described on the form. If you do not agree with what is written on the form, you can choose not to sign it. What you can also do is indicate your disagreement in the 'Comments' field. This field is at the bottom of the claim form. Here you can enter that you do not agree. Also indicate how you think it should be.

Once the insurance company receives the claim form from you, they will process the claim.

Every time you file a claim, you lose 5 claim-free years. As a result, you lose part of the discount you’ve accumulated. The loss of 5 claim-free years is the same for every insurer. However, the discount you receive for accumulating claim-free years can vary from one insurer to another. For example, after filing a claim, you might receive a significantly smaller discount from one insurance company, while the difference in discount from another insurance company is negligible.

What is the difference between unilateral and bilateral damage?

You can actually tell the difference between unilateral and bilateral damage from the name of the damage. With unilateral damage, you have not collided with another vehicle, but you are the only road user involved. This damage occurs because you hit an object with your car, such as a tree or a lamppost. Two-sided damage does involve another car. Two-sided damage can be caused by a collision, for example.

Questions about your car insurance

Want to be sure if your car insurance provides coverage for two-sided damage? Then check the policy conditions. Do you want to change the coverage of your car insurance? You can do so through the online contact form.

On alpina.nl you can easily and quickly compare by coverage and price. This way you choose the car insurance that best suits you and your car.
Do you have any questions? Then please contact us. We will gladly help you! We can be reached from Monday to Friday between 08:00 and 18:00 on telephone number 088-6883700.