Auto Insurance Claims: insurance dispute, work insurance, insurance dispute

Question
The body shop has submitted supplement damages claim to insurance for 10,000 dollars. Prior to the agent going to inspect the car the shop fixed said damages. The body shop had no authorization to fix the new damage and I haven't signed anything approving the work! Insurance may not pay the new fees, what is myrecourse to get my car back??

Answer
Hi Christina,

Depending on your state laws will make a difference. In Wisconsin, anything over $25 the customer had to be advised of any additional charges.

I am not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice however, as a shop owner dealing with insurance claims close to 20 years, it has been my experience that all supplements had to be approved up front by the insurance company.

I commonly would get an OK for figures under $500 without the insurance adjuster having to come back out and look at additional damage, but for the type of money your are talking, there is no way that an insurance company would authorize this without an inspection. The body shop did not have authorization to go ahead and if this is a rightous supplement, its not your problem. It is between them and the insurance company. All you are responsible for is your deductible and any betterment if applicable such as a new tire or battery portion.

What you need to do is get on the phone with your insurance company immediately and explain what the body shop is trying to do to you.

Is this one of those on a list of repair shops the insurance company recommended or did you choose this place?


If you are still having troubles and you are in a decent sized city, many local news shows have consumer oriented investigations pertaining to these situations.

Talk to your insurance company first.

Supplements normally don't have anything to do with the insured. This shop sounds crooked to me and if they have been doing insurance work over a month, they know they need authorization from the insurance company to supplement. See, in this case, you are only the customer because it is your car. The obligations you have are spelled out on your policy. After that, for additional repair, the insurance company is the customer because they are paying the bill.

Good luck and let me know how this turns out.