Everyone in these modern days has either their houses, cars or other properties insured. This gives some assurance that despite what may happen in the future, some compensation would be given to the person, and you would not lose out totally and go empty-handed.
Insurance brokers are so important everywhere, and with them, your life and properties are well covered and secured. Depending on what you have insured with them, it is certain that you are under their coverage. So, do insurance companies check traffic cameras?
Insurance companies may check traffic cameras to get first-hand information and proof of accidents to be sure the accident happened the way it was claimed to have happened.
If they find out it happened the way it was claimed to have happened, they would compensate you duly, but if not, they will not.
Insurance Companies and Traffic Cameras: An Overview
Insurance companies are established as a form of safety when it comes to losing finances or financial loss, as many would call it.
They are well established and set up with clear terms of what they are there for. To help manage risk and stand there when it comes to some kind of loss that may take a huge toll on someone’s life or property, as the case may be.
The people that help give you insurance is your insurer. You can insure many things with them and have your mind at rest that even if anything happens, you and your property are well protected.
When it comes to a loss of life, you would know that there would also be some form of compensation for you and the affected person’s family.
The compensation given by the insurer to the insured comes in the form of financial compensations, and you, as a stakeholder, would have to pay some form of premium to the insurer.
This helps when you, as the person whose insurance is covering, encounter anything, they would be able to pay you some forms of compensation.
Traffic cameras are used in many places to monitor the movement of vehicles and know the vehicles that are obedient to traffic rules, the ones that violate traffic rules, and how they can be punished.
In most countries, you would see traffic cameras on highways, major roads, motorways, and expressways.
One special thing about these traffic cameras is the way there are connected. If you are not careful, you would never know that such things exist because they are laid underground with optic fibers down to the place they are supposed to be fixed to help monitor vehicles and road users.
Insurance companies and traffic cameras are in a good relationship because they use them to know what happened and how it happened. If you disobeyed the traffic rules or were obedient to traffic rules before any form of accident occurs.
Traffic/security cameras really help them know the real truth and decide on how to follow up with the case and finally what level of compensation they are supposed to give you or if they are not supposed to give you anything. All deepens on what they see from the footage captured on the traffic cameras.
Do Insurance Companies Check Traffic Cameras?
Insurance companies can pull traffic camera footage as long as they have followed all due processes and procedures laid down by the government or other agencies that regulate the traffic footage to enable them to have access to the footage for better clarification of the incident that occurred.
However, knowing the benefits of traffic camera footage in accidents and other things that may have happened to anyone, insurance companies would do anything they can within their reach to get or pull traffic camera footage.
Because they know this would help them know what really happened if you are telling the truth or adding any form of lies to what you claimed happened to you.
If it warrants them going to the police to get a permit to get the traffic footage, they will go on with it. If it is in the case of getting a court verdict, they would never hesitate to do so, and if they would have to go to some government agencies before they can access this footage, they will not leave it undone.
All because it is a good source of information and proof of whatever claim may have come to their office from anyone.
When do Insurance Companies Check Traffic Cameras?
Insurance companies can decide to check traffic cameras immediately after an incident might have occurred. Once such information is passed to them, they would check the claims and other things they need to check to ascertain the level of damage and how to deal with what has happened.
The people assigned to this responsibility would go to all lengths to ensure that they get to the root of what might have caused the incident.
They can go to the extent of checking the traffic cameras, asking people who were there when the incident occurred, getting photos, and going to the police to get some forms of permission.
All these other forms of investigation can come to play if the incident occurred where there are no security cameras. Still, if there are traffic cameras, they would go ahead with getting the footage of whatever would have caused the incident and know what to do next.
Why do Insurance Companies Check Traffic Cameras?
There are certain reasons why you would see an insurance company going to the extent of checking traffic camera footage. It can be for their own benefit or for the person who has brought a claim that something has happened. In most cases, it can also be a result of government or company policy.
Here are the major reasons why insurance companies check traffic cameras:
1. Proof of Evidence
Evidence is vital when it comes to checking issues on traffic cameras and getting video footage from them. Without evidence, no one would listen to you or believe whatever you bring to the table as what really happened.
The only way insurance companies would give you listening ears would be when they have gone through the traffic camera footage and seen it as proof of evidence that such a thing really occurred. This is one of the reasons why insurance companies check traffic cameras.
2. To Know What Really Happened
When you bring any form of claim to an insurance company about an accident or fire incident, they would note it down but would never stop there.
The insurance company would go a long way and protocols to know the truth of what has really happened. They would not just believe you hook line and sinker; no, they would do their own investigations, and when they are done, they would compare both indurations to know if what you claimed was the adequate truth or if by chance you have added any form of lies to it.
3. Know The Level of Compensation to Give
This is one of the most important reasons you would see insurance companies checking security cameras to see the incident’s video footage.
After you have submitted your claims and have gone through their investigation level and know what happened, the next thing would be to give you all your insurance benefits.
The footage and information they have from the traffic cameras would help them know the level of compensation they are giving to you.
This is one thing that an insurance company would never joke about because they are not running a charity organization. Since the video footage recorded by the traffic cameras is of high quality unlike other low quality security cameras, they would be able to see the exact thing that happened.
4. Policy
They would also check traffic cameras because it is part of their policy to do so. Every organization, both government and private, have policies that guide and regulate them.
They would never act outside their stipulated policy, if they do, they can be sued, and more issues would escalate from there. This is one strong reason that binds them to get traffic camera footage.
Acting outside their policy would be detrimental to them. Not only would it make them lose value and standard, but they would also end up losing more customers than they think.
Will Insurance Companies Check of Traffic Cameras Affect the Accident Claim?
Yes, the Insurance company’s check of traffic cameras can affect the accident claim because they check traffic cameras to know the actual thing that led to the accident claim.
If after checking the video footage of the traffic camera and finding out that you lied about the incident, they won’t make the necessary compensation they should make.
Still, if they check and notice that you did not purposely cause the incident or accident, they will proceed with the necessary compensation.
They don’t just take whatever reason you give them; rather, they would check all the traffic cameras around the area where the accident happened and how it happened, and what affected the incident.
If it was due to recklessness, carelessness from the side of the person who submitted a claim, or if the traffic cameras caused it. You can read how to know if your insurance covers windshield replacement.
Final Thoughts
Traffic cameras are what insurance companies would not joke with because they know their importance to them. It is their eyes on the highways, expressways, and other roads used by car owners.
With this, they would know what to do anytime any claim is brought up to them. This is so important as it can be two-sided. It can help them and can also help the insured.