Auto Insurance Claims: Fender bender, witness statement, accident scene

Question
Hello,  I have a younger sister (16) who was involved in a no fault accident according to the police and a witness statement.  She was turning right and he tried to sneak underneath her and the hit.  It put some deepscuff marks on the bumper cover and flattened the fender out and some of the door.  The thing is that that side of the car already had damage.  Not as bad as it is now, but damage.  Everyone at the accident scene thinks that this came from this accident.  I don't want to rip anyone off, but, it was better off than before this guy hit it.  The car is 8 years old.  What do you think will happen?  How should we approach the adjuster?

Thanks
Kevin

Answer
Hi Kevin,

Just let the insurance company assess the damage. You should point out that there was some minor prior damage, however be prepared for the insurance company to use that to try not to pay for the additional damage in those areas. This is because it will be very hard to tell the difference between what was already there and what is new. So how you handle this is prety much up to you.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh