Auto Insurance Claims: Claim question, total loss auto

Question
QUESTION: My insurance company recently totalled my car and due to hail damage and sent me a check for the damages, but the check has my name, my husbands and the finance company.  How do I deposit the check into my account with the finance company's name on the check?

ANSWER: Hello Debra,

You can only deposit the check to your account after the finance company has signed the check and mailed it back to you. So don't sign the check before mailing it to the finance company, or they will deposit it to their account and send you whatever is left over. If you want to "come out ahead with money in your pocket" get the car repaired cheap, like at Maaco, then the finance company will have to sign off on the check. They have a right to not sign until the car is repaired. They will send their inspector to verify repairs.

To insure that you got a fair settlement on the valuation of the car and how to keep the salvage without getting shorted, rental car questions, etc, consider the eBook entitled "Total Loss Auto for Insureds" at UClaim.com.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So I called my finance company which is Wachovia Dealer Services by the way and they told me that these are the steps I need to take:

1. Pick a body shop and get and itemized bill as to the costs of repair.
2. Take pictures of the vehicle after it has been repaired.

Once I have done this I am suppose to send both of these items along with the check "signed" and they will send a check to the body shop and apply the rest to my principle.  Do they have a right to do that and do I have to sign that check? If I were to complete the first to steps that they asked be to do and do not sign the check are they required to sign off on the check and send it back to me?

Thanks in advance for all your help. I am new to this and kind of feel like I might be getting taken for a ride by my finance co.

Answer
Hello Debra,

I have not read your loan or lease contract with the lender. I don't know what state you are in or the laws in your state. I will tell you that as a "public adjuster" who has been handling claims for policy holders against insurers and for vehicles and houses with lenders in California for 29 years, I have done exactly what I advised you to do and had no problems, without reading any loan papers. I have always gotten an OK from the lender just by asking them on the phone if they had a problem with doing it as I proposed. That's no guarantee that you won't have a problem. Check with a lawyer before you rely on my free advice.

In my experience, no lender has the right to keep extra money to put to the principal. You've got to read your contract with the lender. And ask the lender to point out exactly where your contract or the law says you have to give them the money "for safe keeping". Claims making is often like a chess game. I think they are "playing you."

In my opinion, if the car is repaired, you don't have to waste your time sending the lender an estimate or photos. But you can if you want to be "nice." Let them send their own inspector out.

In my opinion, your only challenge is to get a body shop to wait for their money when the repairs are done, or you pay for the repairs, then get your money later. Give the shop the money they advanced for the parts, at the very least, and pay the rest when you get your money? Just thinking out loud here.

And keep in mind, the car does have to be put back to as good as it was before when there is a lienholder. So for example, the body shop can't substitute a sheet of clear plastic for real glass in the door, or a 4 cylinder motor for a 6 cylinder motor.

Good luck, Deb. This is a great learning experience for you.