Auto Insurance Claims: Damage Repair, adjustor, flexible body

Question
My car was parked correctly in a parking spot at my work.  A girl, who was cutting through the parking lot to beat traffic cut it too short and damaged the driver's side corner bumper.  There is 2 gouges in the bumper, not just paint scrapings.  The 1st estimate was just for repair to make it look like new again but my husband said in a year or two, that it will show.  He wants a new bumper on the car with it being painted to match.  The new estimate is about $300 more than the original.  The girl that hit me is with the same insurance company as we are.  Her father, the policy holder, told the insurance company he would rather pay us up front.  The claims girl had agreed with my husband that the car (which is a 2008) should be just as it was before it was hit.  Now she is saying that legally, they only have to repair it.  We are not sure if the father is balking at the increased amount or what.  They sent an adjustor to look at the car and he is saying they only have to repair it as well.  He also told us to file a claim through our policy.  Why should we do that and have a black mark when we did nothing wrong.

Both the adjustor and claims girl are stating that it is the repair shops responsibility if the repair job is faulty for as long as we own the car.  You know, we are not at fault here but feel the insurance company is siding with the person who caused the issue.  The girl did not even come into the building to look for the owner of the car.  She left her name, address, VIN #, Policy # but no company name and her plate number....no phone number.  If it was just paint scraping that would be one thing but it is 2 slices through the bumper material.  Do we have a leg to stand on to push this with the insurance company to make them make it the way it was before she hit it?

Answer
Michelle,

Repairs to flexible body parts (bumper covers and trim) are jobs that are most prone to failure, particularly paint. Take the car to a shop you trust and one that will guarantee the work for as long as you own the car. Leave the decision up the the repairer. If one says a repair will work, I would rely on his opinion. The insurance company needs to restore your car to its pre-loss condition in terms of its form and function. While a new bumper cover may seem like the best bet to you, replacement covers must be painted to match the body color, whereas the original bumper cover had its color imbedded in the material and would never crack or peel under the most extreme conditions or impacts. So, you are still behind the 8 ball no matter which way you go.

If the insurance company pays for a new cover, be sure it is an OEM cover and not an aftermarket part. Their performance is not as good as the OEM parts.

As for filing the claim under your coverage, there would not be much difference in what the insurance company writes in its estimate, since it is the same carrier. The claim would be subrogated in house, so you would not have a chargable claim on your policy, and your deductible would be waived.

Take the car to a shop (a dealer's shop is often a good choice, however there are independent shops that do superior work and don't pay their techs on a flat rate plan, which can make a difference in the quality of the work)Let them deal with the insurance company.

Charlie