Auto Insurance Claims: Betterment deduction, claims supervisor, betterment

Question
Hi Richard,

I am in Texas and I have a 98 honda civic and it was hit by another car on  16, 2009. The other party was at fault and admitted it.
Since i do not have a comprehensive coverage in my
insurance, I filed a claim with the at-fault drivers
insurance. The accident damaged my passenger side rear door, my front bumper and rear bumper on the passenger side. Prior to the accident i had some scratches on the front bumper but there were no damages in my door and rear bumper. My car is still drivable and i got an appraisal from the insurance company. According to their estimates they have a 50% betterment deduction on every damage. SO, I went to a body shop for a supplement process. The rep  told me since there is a betterment deduction in the estimates from the insurance company, I might have to pay something out of my pocket even after the supplement. He looked at the damages and didn't find any reasonable base to deduct the betterment in the estimates. So, he asked me to call the insurance company and ask about the betterment deduction. When i talked to my adjuster and the claims supervisor there, they told me they must deduct the betterment because the vehicle is very old and the paint too.  To repair the damage they might have to paint the other parts too and since the vehicle was already old, I must pay for the extra repair. Overall, they were trying to say that after the repair my vehicle will look better than what it was before the accident so i have to pay for it. The paint in my car isn't bad at all. It still shines and looks good. I don't see a reason why would i have to pay to fix the damages that i wasn't even responsible for. Just because my vehicle is old doesn't mean that anyone can hit my car and not pay for the ttal damages. If i had never been in that accident I would have never have to repair the car and it would be all fine. And is betterment deduction applied just because the vehicle is old and paint might have faded or is it only applied to parts like batteries, tires which is not the case in mine. The visual damage in my car is the scratches in the front and rear bumper and the damage in the rear passenger door ( quarter panel and something like that).

The amount of estimate from the insurance company differs a lot from what i received from the body shop. And the
insurance company is trying to rip me off through this
betterment deduction.

What can I do? What are my options?

Thanks again.

Answer
Hi Andy,

What they are trying to do to you is completely wrong. Betterment is only to be taken on parts that wear out over time. Such as tires, brakes, shocks, batteries, etc. The only time is is appropriate to take betterment on paint is if they will have to paint the entire vehicle. If they are only painting the the areas that are being repaired or replaced, then no betterment should be applies.

You should contact the claims manager again and explain this to them. If they continue push this, you should ask for an explanation in writing. Then you can file a complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance. If that does not resolve the issue, then you would have to file suit in small claims court against the at-fault person.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh