Auto Insurance Claims: insurance check written to me & lienholder, lienholder on check

Question
Last weekend I backed into my mothers car. I have a dent on the trunk and the bumper has a big scratch. It did dent in my mom's car in two places. They came out to look at it today, and wrote me a check to me and the lienholder for $881 (this is after my $500 deductible) What I would like to do, is just fix the dent, the scratch is not that noticeable. How do I go about cashing the check? Do I have to send it to the lienholder first? Or just go to my bank? Thanks!

Answer
Rachel,

   In almost every case, if you have a lienholder, then your agreement with that lienholder says that you will use the proceeds of any damage claim to fix the damages or apply to the loan balance.  The only way you will be able to get a final answer on this subject is to consult your lien / loan agreement.  It is very possible that your lienholder has a threshold wherein they require proof of repair, I doubt that a claim for $1500.00 or less would require that they inspect the vehicle or mandate the repairs, but you'll have to contact the lienholder to find out for sure.  You might be surprised, many lienholders will endorse damage payments up to $5000.00 without much fuss.

   I hope this helps!