Auto Insurance Claims: Estimate, visual estimate, accurate estimate

Question
I recently was involved in an auto accident. I was rear ended by another driver. His insurance company was fast in settling the claim. They had me take my car to a company of their choosing to get an estimate of the damages. Then the wrote me a check for the repair amount. But I decided to take my car to 2 other companies to get an estimate done. The first company quoted me triple what the insurance gave me, then the second company quoted me a little over double what the insurance company gave me. I have not cashed the check from the insurance company yet and I was wondering if there was a way I could fight what they gave me and get the amount I really need to fix my car?

Answer
Hi Angeline,

The insurance company owes you for the actual cost of repairs. They will often do an initial visual estimate and issue a check to get things started. Do not take your vehicle to a shop recommended by the insurance company.  You need to select a body shop that you want to do the work. You will need to put the vehicle in the shop and ask them to do a tear down and write an accurate estimate. You will also need to provide the shop with a copy of the estimate that the insurance company paid from. Tell the shop to call the insurance company obce the tear down is complete for them to send their appraiser to the shop to re-inspect the vehicle and write a supplemental estimate. The shop will then negotiate the cost of repairs with the insurance appraiser to acheive a result that everyone can live with.  This is how it must be done. The insurance company will not issue any additional checks until the vehicle is actually in the shop and torn for re-inspection.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh