Collision insurance provides for the repair or replacement of an insured's own vehicle after a car accident. Fault is not an irrelevant to the right to collect collsion coverage payment. This is distinguished from property damage liability coverage. The innocent victim of a car accident may have the choice to present a claim for the property damage under his own collision coverage or under the negligent defendant's property damage liability insurance coverage. Collision coverage ordinarily carries with it a deductible, whereas property damage liability insurance coverage does not.
In an automobile accident case, after a claim has been paid under collision coverage, the insurance carrier who paid the claim may proceed against the property damage liability insurance carrier for the negligent defendant to recover for the amount paid out. This recovery of money paid out is called subrogation. Between insurance carriers subrogation for collision coverage payments is most often handled by arbitration.
