QuestionQUESTION: Last Sunday night, (10-23) I was driving out of town and a coyote ran out in front of me. My front driver side of my car was damaged. We had called insurance and they sent a tow truck for us and took us to a hotel. The next morning we had to go rent a car out of pocket since we were out of town. The insurance company called us back on Monday (10-24) and told us they were taking the car to the body shop and they will get the estimate and all that done. The next day on Tuesday (10-25) we had to go to the body shop to get some things out of the car and took pictures of the entire car. The radiator was cracked, headlights broke, bumper was busted and my tire was flat. We took pictures of it all. On wensday (10-26), insurance called us and told us the price and what it will cost me out of pocket and so on and so on. Friday morning, (10-28) I got a call from the body hop saying my car was done and I have to pick it up that day or I'd be charged 50$ a day to store it. So again, I had to rent a car out of pocket and drive 250 miles to pick up my car, when I got there everything looked great. I turned on the rental car, and starte to drive my car back home. About 25 miles from the body shop, my front driver side tire went flat. I call the body shop to ask if it had been replaced, and of course they had just closed. So I had to call another tow company to pick up my car and take it to their lot for the weekend and take me to get yet another rental car out of my own pocket. I was wondering, if my tire was flat when they did the estimate aren't they suppose to fix all the damage? And not just put my old tire that had a slow leak back on? And can I file a complaint with the insurance that the job wasn't done right and it cost me an extra $150? My insurance company is Progressive if that matters. Thanks so much for your time and allowing me to use your services.
ANSWER: I hate to answer a question this way, but I fear that I cannot be of much assistance without seeing the damage estimate, policy, and pictures.
Here's the best I can do without all of that information. . .
In Texas, a collision with an animal can be either collision or comp. Normally your deductible is the only out of pocket cost you will have, except rental expenses. Most people that have collision coverage also have rental coverage for a certain amount per day, but it is not mandatory that you have rental coverage. I don't know how you got your Progressive policy, but normally Progressive is sold over the phone and rental coverage is included in the quote. Anyway. . .
You have to have coverage to get paid back for rental. Also, your insurance will not cover damages that are maintenance related, or road damage to tires, so it is unlikely that a slow leak will be something you can get your insurance to cover unless you can prove it is related to hitting the coyote. Make sense?
I hope this helps. Don't be shy if you need more information, you can find me easily on the web by searching for the petty details of claims.
Good luck!
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QUESTION: I didn't expect to get paid back for the rental. But I was just wondering about the tire. I have pictures of my car the night it happened and my tire was fine even when they loaded it up on the flat bed it still had full pressure but the next day when it was at the shop, it was flat. What would be the best way to prove that it was either damaged by the coyote or the tow truck company? I have pictures of everything. And should either the insurance company or the body shop tell me that I had a bad tire so I could of paid for it before I got out on the road and almost had a blow out? If you would like to see the picture, i can find a way to upload them. I appreciate your help. Thanks.
ANSWER: Steven,
You made the statement that "I was wondering, if my tire was flat when they did the estimate aren't they suppose to fix all the damage? And not just put my old tire that had a slow leak back on?"
That statement made me believe that you knew the tire had a slow leak. If you didn't know it had a slow leak, how do you know that is how it became flat?
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QUESTION: I know it had a slow leak because when the tow company got there to change the tire, he pulled my old one off and you could still hear the air drizzling out of the tire and we found were it was leaking from by the good old soap and water trick and it's like a half an ince slash In the inside sidewall
AnswerIn that case, it seems clear it was accident related. Just show a picture of the gash, and demand that the tire be replaced. It would be hard to argue that a gash was already there. Thanks for the explanation. I hope this response helps. The rule is "accident related, covered".
