Auto Insurance Claims: am i gettin screwed, paint job, hi mike

Question
I was rear-ended a month and a half ago. After many unreturned phone calls over the weeks about why it was taking so long to settle my claim, I was finally told it was settled. However, I was given an estimate by the adjuster that doesn't even seem like its enough to cover the paint job. I was also told that I am not aloud to turn my car into the shop until they have all parts ready and will be able to work on my car on day one. I was told not to turn my car in on a friday because they will not pay for my car to sit in a auto shop over the weekend. They are only giving me a rental car ticket good for 3 days. I've been in accidents before, it takes longer than 3 days to fix damages. There was also no mention of a compensation check. What are my rights, and am I getting screwed?I was rear-ended a month and a half ago. After many unreturned phone calls over the weeks about why it was taking so long to settle my claim, I was finally told it was settled. However, I was given an estimate by the adjuster that doesn't even seem like its enough to cover the paint job. I was also told that I am not aloud to turn my car into the shop until they have all parts ready and will be able to work on my car on day one. I was told not to turn my car in on a friday because they will not pay for my car to sit in a auto shop over the weekend. They are only giving me a rental car ticket good for 3 days. I've been in accidents before, it takes longer than 3 days to fix damages. There was also no mention of a compensation check. What are my rights, and am I getting screwed?

Answer
Hi Mike,

It is the job of an insurance company to minimize claims. in your case it sounds like your vehicle, although damaged, is drivable. The insurance company knows that it can take several days for a body shop to get in parts once they are ordered so they do not want to pay for a rental car when your own car can be driven. They will determine the number of daye they will approve for rental based on the number of labor hours in the repair estimate. If the shop legitimately needs more time, the shop can justify the time to the company they will approve more rental.

As for the cost of repairs, you need to go to the shop of your choice and give them a copy of the insurance company repair estimate. Tell them to order the parts for your car and call you when they are in. Then when your car is in the shop for the repairs the shop will need to call the insurance company to inform then of any additional damages or costs. The insurance company will then send an estimator to the shop and they will negotiate any remaining balance.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh