Group Predicts 325,000 Holiday Car Crashes
John Egan
Take care when driving to Grandma’s house this holiday season. A fender-bender could occur when you’re going over the river or through the woods.
The nonprofit Consumer Federation of America estimates that more than 325,000 car crashes will happen from Dec. 23, 2011, to Jan. 2, 2012. AAA estimates 27 percent of Americans will travel by car at least 50 miles during that period.
The consumer group predicts those holiday crashes will trigger 200,000 to 225,000 car insurance claims.
Mark Romano, the federation’s director of insurance claims projects, has written a guide called “Navigating the Auto Claims Maze: Getting the Settlement You Deserve” to help motorists file successful car insurance claims and collect fair settlements.
“It is our hope that this report will make the auto claims process a lot less intimidating and confusing for drivers who are unfortunate enough to be in an accident during the holiday season,” Romano says.
The guide can be downloaded at www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/Auto-Insurance-Navigating-Auto-Claims-Guide-12-14-11.pdf.
