Auto Insurance Claims: Insurance settlement, allstate insurance, bmw dealer

Question
Our BMW in San Diego was backed into at a grocery parking lot and took pictures at scene.Other person accepted fault.BMW dealer estimated $2700.They have Allstate Insurance who only offered $500 when the claims adjuster saw it.How do we proceed? Is it unwise to go ahead and have car fixed in meantime at our expense? Thanks very much for the advice.

Answer
Hi Chris,

You should take the vehicle to the shop of your choice for the repairs. You should give the shop a copy of the repair estimate writen by Allstate or at least give the shop the contact info for the adjuster at Allstate. The shop should call the adjuster to place a supplement request. The allstate adjster will then go to the body shop to re-inspect the car and will negotiate the cost of repairs with the shop.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh