Insurance Question

natysr

New member
So, we were in a fender bender a couple weeks ago. A truck in front of us backed into us. Last week the adjuster came out and looked at our car. He said we should hear from the insurance company in 7-10 days. Well, today we recieve a check in the mail from the insurance company for about $1,000. $326 of that was for the Boulevard ($299 plus tax). The balance was for the bumper repair. Also enclosed was a copy of the guy's estimate. The letter states that we now need to go find a body repair shop, show them the estimate, have them do the work, and if there is any discrepancy in their estimate and the one the insurance company gave us, we have to talk to the insurance company, and the guy that did the estimation, have the body shop talk to them, then the insurance company will determine if they will pay any overage (if there was any). Is it just me, or does it seem like they are make us do all the leg work?

DH got rearended several years ago, the lady had state farm, and they just sent DH to their authorized repair shop and they just billed the insurance directly.

So, I guess my question is, has anyone ever had this type of experience. If I called the no named insurance company and told them I don't like they way they do this and offer to send the the check back, would they be willing to deal directly with a body shop. Do I have any rights in this regard.

Frankly, I just don't have the time to hop around from body shop to body shop looking for someone to do the work for a price the insurance company thinks is right.
 
ADS

Laurenc0101

New member
That is exactly how it was in my most recent fender bender. I was rear-ended. I had to drive to get the estimate and the guy's insurance sent me a check. I told them from the get-go that I was using the dealership and so I took my truck there. Of course their was a lot more damage than their little adjuster estimated :rolleyes: It took a week for the adjuster to get to the dealership and "re-do" the estimate to accept the additional charges and damages, etc. I was without a vehicle the whole time because the company refused to match my rental to my vehicle (they are not required apparently, so I opted for the reimbursement). When all was said and done, the insurance people hated to hear my voice. This was a totally horrible experience for me and not like any other that I had ever had.

Any other time, adjusters came to me, and the insurance dealt directly with the dealership. FWIW, I was talking to my agent about my most recent experience (I have State Farm Auto) and she said that the experience I had is not uncommon for today. She also said that the first estimate tends to be low for your damage. It tends to be the insurance company's way of getting out for less incase you don't have the car repaired and just pocket the money. My orginal adjustment amount was $410 dollars for my damage. The actual cost of my repairs was $1269. So you can see just how low they dealt me orginally hoping to get by with a cheap repair.

That got long, sorry! I hope you have better luck getting your repairs completed than I did.
 

natysr

New member
hm...the estimate did say that it was done assuming that crashed parts were being purchased to put on my car. My thought, "I already have a crashed bumper...why do I want to buy another one". :rolleyes:

So, I do have the right to demand that the repair be made at the dealer? My car is still under the original Honda warranty.
 

Laurenc0101

New member
They tried to tell the dealership to put refurbished(?) parts on my truck too. I told the gentleman at the dealership that I was not okay with that. He agreed and even told me that they (the Chevrolet dealership) had to restore my vehicle to factory condition which meant that they couldn't even use used, crashed, etc. parts. I don't know if that is the policy for all dealerships, but I was certainly glad that it was a policy. The up-side is that the dealership works with insurance companies all the time, so they know how to handle the adjusters. I just told the gentleman at the dealership what I wanted and he added the parts and repairs I needed (like the orginal estimate didn't allow for painting of my painted bumper) and worked it out from there.

My vehicle was repaired with new parts and repainted to match my vehicle. I would certainly think that you have the right to have it repaired by any licensed facility. I would call the dealership in the morning and talk with their collision center if you want to have it repaired there. I just knew that was where I wanted mine repaired because of the quality of work they did on another vehicle that was repaired there.
 

Laurenc0101

New member
Oh, and in your orginal post, you mentioned that the check had the vehicle damage and replacement Blvd together. Am I reading that correctly? They really should have sent seperate checks. My insurance told me that it was okay to cash my property check (given to me to replace the MA that was in my truck), but not to cash the vehicle damage check at all. Something about once you sign and cash it, you are agreeing or can be agreeing that your repairs are complete (at least that is what my agent told me). So you might want to check with your agent and see if it works the same at all in CA. I never cashed my vehicle damage check at all. Once my truck was repaired and I signed that I was completely satisfied, the dealership had me sign the check over to them to be combined with the additional payment from the insurance company.

Again, I don't know if that is how it works in CA, but it may be worth looking into just incase.
 

natysr

New member
Oh, and in your orginal post, you mentioned that the check had the vehicle damage and replacement Blvd together. Am I reading that correctly? They really should have sent seperate checks. My insurance told me that it was okay to cash my property check (given to me to replace the MA that was in my truck), but not to cash the vehicle damage check at all. Something about once you sign and cash it, you are agreeing or can be agreeing that your repairs are complete (at least that is what my agent told me). So you might want to check with your agent and see if it works the same at all in CA. I never cashed my vehicle damage check at all. Once my truck was repaired and I signed that I was completely satisfied, the dealership had me sign the check over to them to be combined with the additional payment from the insurance company.

Again, I don't know if that is how it works in CA, but it may be worth looking into just incase.

That is a good point. I wasn't comfortable with the checks being combined the way they were. I have another seat, so I really am not in a huge hurry to get the seat money, but it would be nice to get it sooner rather than later. I may call the lady and tell her I will mail it back and request the checks be issued seperately...or, request that she send me a check just for the seat and hold on the vehicle repair check until I get an estimate.
 

amy919

New member
When Dh was in an accident a few months ago, he took the car to the dealership and the adjuster met him there. The adjuster dealt with the dealership (while Matt was there), agreed on the estimate and issued us a check for about $1400. The actual cost of the repairs ended up being about $1200, so we contacted the insurance company and they told us not to worry about it :confused:. We weren't going to question an extra $200.

They also paid for a rental car. The car was supposed to be finished in 5 days and it ended up being almost 2 full weeks. Then, when we got the car back, the door was still not closing correctly. Matt took it back to the dealership and they determined that the entire door needed to be replaced. The dealership contacted the insurance company directly, they authorized the repair and paid the dealership directly for that.

The car seats were handled differently. We had to take them to the local office and once we handed over the seats with documentation of the value of the seats (I just had e-mails from the manufacturers), they issued us a separate check on the spot.
 

LuvMyGirls

New member
You'd be surprised how much of the replacement parts come from a salvage yard. My husband runs a salvage yard here. He prefers to call it an "automotive recycling center." Probably 75% of their business is from dealership body shops. Unless you saw the shipping invoice from the manufacturer, your vehicle was probably repaired with at least some used parts.
 

azgirl71

CPST Instructor
We have a body shop. In AZ you can have your vehicle repaired where you want. If the body shop finds additional damages they will contact the insurance company to do a supplement. Who was the ins company? The only part you will be responsible for is your deductible if you are required to pay one. If your vehicle is more than a couple years old most ins companies will use salvaged parts. There is a HUGE mark up on them, but they are usually cheaper than new parts. If there is a minimumal price difference we will use new if we can't get the salvaged part or when it arrives we do not like the quality.

Any insurance company should know that until you do a tear down and start working on the vehicle you will not truly know if there is additional damages.
 

Laurenc0101

New member
I may call the lady and tell her I will mail it back and request the checks be issued seperately...or, request that she send me a check just for the seat and hold on the vehicle repair check until I get an estimate.
Sounds like a good starting point. I hope they work with you and you can get your car repaired quickly! Let us know how it all goes!



You'd be surprised how much of the replacement parts come from a salvage yard. My husband runs a salvage yard here. He prefers to call it an "automotive recycling center." Probably 75% of their business is from dealership body shops. Unless you saw the shipping invoice from the manufacturer, your vehicle was probably repaired with at least some used parts.
I don't know if this was directed to me or just a general statement, but my truck was repaired with new parts. I am not against recycled parts at all and know that they are very useful in the car repair business. :thumbsup: I just preferred new on this truck.
 

beeman

Active member
Well it's slightly different up here because we have government insurance in Saskatchewan. We take our vehicle to the SGI insurance adjuster, they quote it and determine if the vehicle will be repaired or if it's a write off. After we've received the quote, we take it to any SGI accredited body shop, and they do the work for the quoted price (and if theres any discrepancy they deal with SGI then). As far as I am concerned you have the right to request new parts and choose which body shop does the work (especially if you are requesting the dealership). As for the used parts they use, I would assume that they are good parts salvaged off of another vehicle that sustained substantial damage in another area, and not the last broken bumper that has been filled with bondo. I am comfortable putting used parts that are in good condition on my vehicle, but it's a 95 truck, so there is usually lots of selection, and it is no longer perfect either. (Salvaged parts are usually 1/2 the cost of new, and if you're lucky you can find one that matches your paint job). Your insurance company is in the business for one reason: to make money, so they are going to find shortcuts to save money on your claim, so that it doesn't cut as far into your bottom line. You make sure that your vehicle is returned to it's condition prior to the crash, and that no shortcuts are made that would sacrifice quality.
 

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