Auto Insurance Claims: Fair appraisal, claims advice, claim denied

Question
Hi Jane,

I recently had an accident that the other driver admitted to being at fault (and he really was at fault).  After waiting 30-days for the other company to finally determine that their insured was actually insured on the car he was driving at the time of the accident, they sent out an appraiser to estimate the damages on my car.

I have two estimates for repairs in the amounts of $6,300 and $5,200 from two reputable shops referred to me by the insurance company.  The insurance adjuster estimated and only issued a check for $2,600.  The adjuster said that when the car goes into the shop, if there are any other damages that he did not allow for, then the shop can call him to go and see the damages and then they will pay for those if they are legitimate.  

I have decided not to repair the car at this time, does that mean that I am not entitled to the actual damages that two insurance reffered shops have included in their estimate?  I feel that if the insurance companies want to only pay pay for the damages that are visible, then they should provide a shop of their own where I can take my car in and have their own mechanic/body repair specalist inspect the car.  I should not be forced to repair my car in order to get reimbursed for the actual damage that was caused by their insured. I have never filed a claim before and have been paying premiums for over 20 years.

What are my rights - please help!

Thanks

Answer
Hi Suzanah,  

Insurance companies write only what they can see.  For this reason, the insurance estimate will almost always be less than the body shop's appraisal.  How this works is when the body shop begins the repairs, in what is called a tear-down, "hidden" damage is usually discovered.  For example, if you were hit in the bumper, when the shop removes the bumper cover they might find all kinds of additional damage behind that cover that was not visible before the cover was removed.

When this happens, the body shop notifies the insurance company appraiser/adjuster for a supplement.  Depending on the relationship between the insurance company and the shop, the adjuster either needs to respond to examine the newly-discovered damage, or they agree to accept photos.  Either way, the process should not take more than a few days at the most.

Unfortunately for you, if you are just going to take the settlement, you are only going to receive what the insurance company can "see" as your damage.  Translated, that sounds like a serious rip off for you.

My advice, get the car repaired and restored back to a fair market value.  You can always sell it later if you want. You lose big time if you accept the settlement and end up with a damaged car.

Hope this helps.

Jane Pytel
http://SolutionsForYourInsuranceClaim.com
http://FloridaAutoInsuranceCentral.com