Auto Insurance Claims: allstate, adjustor, electrical issues

Question
i currently have allstate for my auto insurance. i have full coverage on my car. i recently hit a deer with my car and the damage was in front of the vehicle. i immediately filed a claim and allstate told me i could take my car to any body shop i wanted, however, if you take it to a body shop that we don't deal with, then an adjustor has to look at your vehicle, but if you take it to one of the shops that we have a relationship with, then they will fix it and we ask no questions. i agreed to have one of the shops that they deal with to do the work. i went there and they gave me an estimate and told me that everything would be taken care of in 8 days. i received a call,after the 8 days, from the body shop saying that the body work has been completed, but the electrical issues have not been fixed, i went by the shop and looked at my vehicle after it was allegedly finished and found a small dent on the front right side of my car, beside the headlight.. i immediately told the body shop and they said don't worry we'll take care of it, a few days went by and i got another call from the body shop saying that an adjustor wants to come and look at the vehicle in a few days, by this time a week has passed since my car was supposed to have been finished. so the adjustor finally comes and checks out my car and states that in his professional opinion the damages were not from my accident with the deer, i immediately called allstate and the body shop and spoke with supervisors and get transferred to some head of the body shop who tells me the exact same thing. i still don't have my car back. can i, and should i sue allstate for not fixing my car?

Answer
Hi Orlando,

Unfortunately, you have just learned an important lesson. You should never ever take your vehicle to a body shop based on the recommendation of any insurance company. The insurance companies contrac with these shops in exchange for the shop providing deep discounts in parts, labor and paint cost. These discounts often result in poor quality repairs so that the shop can make up for the loss of profit on the job. Also the shop views the insurance company as their customer instead of the vehicle owner. The whole idea of insurance companies having relationships with body shops should be illegal.

That having been said you need to fight this very hard. You need to call a claims manager and tell them you want to invoke the appraisal clause of your policy.

 The Appraisal Clause Process

1st party claims with your own insurance company
An appraisal clause is a clause or paragraph found in most but not all insurance policies. It is designed to be a way of reaching a settlement when there is a dispute over the amount of a loss between you and your insurance company and can be invoked by either party. The appraisal clause can be utilized when there is a dispute over the cost to repair your vehicle, the value of your vehicle in a total loss claim or the diminished value of your vehicle if you reside in a state where you can make a 1st party claim for diminished value. The appraisal clause is generally found in the "Damage to Your Auto" section of your policy.  Following are the basic steps involved in the execution of the appraisal clause of most policies.

Step 1: Invoking Your Appraisal Clause
You will write a letter to your insurance company telling them that as a result of your inability to reach a mutually agreeable settlement, you are invoking the appraisal clause of your policy. The letter should be sent by certified mail/return receipt requested.  

Step 2: Selection of Appraisers
In the appraisal clause process, each side will select a competent appraiser to assess the loss. Each side will be responsible for paying their chosen appraiser. You should select an appraiser who is knowledgeable in the specific area that is the subject of the dispute and who is familiar with the appraisal clause process. Your selected appraiser should be able to be objective and impartial.  Your appraiser should not do any work for the insurance company with whom you are having the dispute.

Step 3: Completion of The Process
Your selected appraiser as well as the appraiser selected by your insurance company will each independently appraise the loss. The two appraiser will then communicate and discuss their findings. During this process the two appraisers will attempt to reach a mutually agreeable figure. If the two appraisers are unable to reach an agreement then the two appraisers will mutually select and agree upon a third party Umpire appraiser who will review the positions and documentation of the two primary appraisers and may also do an inspection and assessment of his own. If an umpire appraiser becomes necessary, you and your insurance company will each pay half of the cost of the umpire.  Then an amount agreed upon by any two of the three appraisers will be final and binding on all parties.

If the appraisal clause does not result in an acceptable conclusion, you could file suit. However that process could be very costly and take a considerable amount of time.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh