Auto Insurance Claims: Auto Glass Claim Error, auto glass shop, auto glass repair

Question
QUESTION: Hello
I recently made a claim with. my auto insurance company for vandalism done
to my glass window on my vehicle. The glass was shot with a pellet gun
causing it to shatter.
So the first thing I did was make a police report. After getting a report
number I called the claims department who then referred me to my local
office. After speaking with the representative at the office who got all
pertinent information, she said she would be calling me back to follow up.
About an hour or so later, she calls me up saying that she had gotten in
touch with an auto glass repair shop and has taken care of everything. She
advised me that the auto glass shop will be contacting me soon to schedule
an appointment.  The appointment day comes and upon delivery of my
vehicle to the shop, they discovered that they had the wrong glass for my
vehicle. Now they would need to re-order the correct glass.
Who is responsible for this error? Shouldn't it be the auto insurance company?
I feel they should have taken further steps in order to get the correct glass
for my vehicle, instead of just asking me to describe the damaged window
over the phone. I also feel that they should have either sent me out to the
repair shop or have someone inspect my vehicle to get the right part. I tried
talking to the insurance agent but apparently he is trying to blame the auto
glass shop for not confirming it with me for having the right glass. Now I had
to wait an additional 4 days to get my vehicle fixed. During that time I was
using a rental vehicle for my transportation
Now I am trying to have the insurance company pay for my extended rental
expenses in full instead of via their coverage policy because if they would
have gotten the right glass for my vehicle, i wouldn't have to extend my
rental.
Thank you
Josh

ANSWER: Josh,

Given the fact that your insurance company chose the shop to do the glass work on your car, they are liable for any of the consequences of that decision. That would include the cost of the rental vehicle while the shop corrected their error. It was THEY who selected that provider of glass work. If the insurance company balks at paying this expense, you can file a complaint with your state insurance department. If that doesn't work, you can file suit in small claims court against your insurance company.

Charlie

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

QUESTION: Hello,
Upon attempting to inform my agent that they are responsible for the rental payment, they have informed me that they are still investigating it. Reason to this now, is because of a company they go through called Links (sp?)
which supposedly handles all auto glass claims. My agent is telling me now that this other company "Links" were the ones who contacted the glass shop. Therefore, they would need to follow up with them. But initially when I made the claim, I was not inform of this "Links" company.
I still feel my insurance company is liable for these expenses due to the fact that they didn't inform me about another party being involved.

Answer
Yes, Lynx is a company that provides auto glass repairs and replacement for insurance companies. Your intitial inclination is correct, i.e. but for their involvement with the claim and the service, you would have not had to rent a car for the additional days. The same remedies apply.