Car wreck, lowball offer.

[Hall]

Your insurance company isn't your friend either and will also do what they can to pay out as little as possible. You're also bound to your policy so you need to pay the deductible until the claim is subrogated in addition to your policy's rental coverage and limitation on OEM parts.

Maybe your insurance company operates like that.... A few years ago, a guy pulled out of a side street, from a stop sign, and hit my wife. Undisputed that he was at-fault. Our insurance company handled the claim for us and we didn't pay the deductible either. Our van was totaled and we rec'd full market value (I compared what they offered to what the same model was selling at used-car lots). They did withhold the deductible from that amount until the claim was subrogated but we got a check after a few weeks. They paid for a rental car for (3) weeks too. It was initially for (2) weeks but I told him "we just got the check for the van a couple days ago and haven't been able to find anything yet" and he asked "want another week?".

Oh yeah, our rates have changed too.... they've went down. Why ? Because of good driving records, no claims, etc...

 

[JeffKeryk]

Your insurance company isn't your friend either and will also do what they can to pay out as little as possible. You're also bound to your policy so you need to pay the deductible until the claim is subrogated in addition to your policy's rental coverage and limitation on OEM parts.

My insurance company has helped me numerous times and offered excellent advice.

 

[gregk24]

So here is another question, without letting me know in advance the insurance is mailing me the check for a stupid low amount. I called to complain and they said just take it to the shop and the shop would file any supplements if needed.

So is it true that all I should do is take it to my preferred shop and let them handle the rest?

I just don’t want the insurance to balk at the actual repair amount and me be on the hook for the difference.

 

[Nick1994]

So here is another question, without letting me know in advance the insurance is mailing me the check for a stupid low amount. I called to complain and they said just take it to the shop and the shop would file any supplements if needed.

So is it true that all I should do is take it to my preferred shop and let them handle the rest?

I just don’t want the insurance to balk at the actual repair amount and me be on the hook for the difference.

Yes the body shop will write any supplements if needed. They do it for basically every single claim that comes through.

Also make sure to take it to a shop of your choosing and not one of the insurance company's "preferred shops".

 

[Hall]

So here is another question, without letting me know in advance the insurance is mailing me the check for a stupid low amount. I called to complain and they said just take it to the shop and the shop would file any supplements if needed.

So is it true that all I should do is take it to my preferred shop and let them handle the rest?

I just don’t want the insurance to balk at the actual repair amount and me be on the hook for the difference.

As others have already said, the body shop will go back to the insurance company if there's add'l damage and get paid for the added work. My recent experience with a body shop repair that insurance paid for showed me that the insurance adjuster used the same software that (2) body shops I went to also use. I had (3) "viable" estimates - insurance company's, body shop A and body shop B. The insurance company's estimate was the middle amount, but all three were within $200 of each other anyway.

Have to ask, how do you know the offer is "lowball" ? You haven't gotten estimates from shops to compare.

 

[CKN]

Also, when it's all done, ask for a diminished value claim. The standard is 25% of the repair, so $2,500 repair would mean you would get $625. I got them to go to 40%, so I got almost $1k.

You were lucky...most get from nothing to very little. Don't even know how one could go here in today's used car market.

 

[NormanBuntz]

Take it to the body shop of your choice and let them deal with the insurance company.

This, plus like others have said, be sure to argue for an additional allowance for diminished value on the new car since it will be repaired and repainted. If you let your insurance company handle the claim, they will charge you your deductible, and you'll have to wait to be reimbursed.

 

[Sparky16]

If your insurance is AAA, State Farm or All State, your premium probably won't go. But it depends on your insurance company and also the state you live in.

When I got rear ended in bumper to bumper traffic in CA, my ML320 with tow hitch receiver shows no damage but the damage on the other party was very visible. The other party was also uninsured. I had to call CHP since wife had minor whiplash. When home, I called my insurance(Ameriprise through Costco) just in case wife's whiplash got worsened. Ended up we never filed any claim after all, but when the time came for renewal, my insurance bumped up more than 30%. That was only incident we ever reported!

Called to ask for explanation, were told it's just company-wide rate increase not the accident we reported. Shopping around for lower rates, we found out that accident had bigger role for the rate increase. So, your insurance may tell you they won't raise rate for this claim, there's some chance depending on your insurance company.

When we were insured with AAA for decades, they never hiked my insurance for not-at-fault accident, but their rate went up so high year after year for the first class service, we had to move to cheaper insurance.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Also check if your state has loss of use. That’s where you get the rental car money, even if you don’t rent a car.

 

[eljefino]

Telling your insurance company you were in a wreck != filing a claim.

One of the guys that rear ended my wife reimbursed his insurance for the minor
I had liability only, and my insurance asked me why I was calling them. Told them I was duty bound to do so per my policy. I didn't file a claim, obviously.

 

[gregk24]

The plan is to use our preferred shop to have the damage fixed, if the work is flawless we may keep it. Both wifey and I are on board with pursuing a new car though. Carmax quoted us nearly $2000 over what we paid for this brand new to sell it to them. That is hard to pass up.

 

[Gimpy1]

Your insurance company isn't your friend either and will also do what they can to pay out as little as possible. You're also bound to your policy so you need to pay the deductible until the claim is subrogated in addition to your policy's rental coverage and limitation on OEM parts.

Yup. I ve be in the insurance bis for 16 years as a licenced adjuster, estimator, fire and theft investigatorand auditor. I hate to say it but most folks are clueless about insurance and how it works. Take 5 minutes sit down and READ your entire policy front to back. Unless you car a current modle year, has less than 10K miles or parts are saftey or unavailable you are not entitled to OEM. You mayget a "lowball" estimate why because its based on a visual inspection. Once the vehicle goes to the shop and is torn down additional damage may be found, if it is the a supplement is generated and paid directly to the shop. A body shop will tell a customer that an estimate is too low, guess what they are in the business to make money. I've seen a lot of shops over write sheets and guess what, when an insurance company sends out a re- inspector estimates change very quickly in fact several body shops have been caught, Service King and Calbier Collision. Stop saying sue insurance companies for property damage, very few attorneys will. I guarantee that State Farm has deeper pockets. You're making it harder than it is. Take your car to any body shop, let them tear it down and let the shop deal with the insurance company directly. You can try to file DV claim but its based on several factors and your statemay not recognize it, you can present it, but don't expect much.

 

[Gimpy1]

So here is another question, without letting me know in advance the insurance is mailing me the check for a stupid low amount. I called to complain and they said just take it to the shop and the shop would file any supplements if needed.

So is it true that all I should do is take it to my preferred shop and let them handle the rest?

I just don’t want the insurance to balk at the actual repair amount and me be on the hook for the difference.

You won't just take it to a shop. Let them handle it don't get in the middle you are just delaying the repair process.

 

[atikovi]

Both wifey and I are on board with pursuing a new car though. Carmax quoted us nearly $2000 over what we paid for this brand new to sell it to them. That is hard to pass up.

Do it. Just wait until later in the year to buy when new car prices have come down and the 2022's are available.

 

[Hall]

if the work is flawless we may keep it.

Who will decide if it's "flawless", you two or someone with no bias ?

How did you determine the initial estimate was lowball ? What amounts did body shops give you in comparison to the insurance estimate ?

 

[GoldDot40]

It may vary state to state too. I asked my insurance agent, who happens to be a good friend of mine and he says in GA, the laws won't allow the insurer to raise your rates if you file a claim that is not your fault. So if you have full coverage and you're hit and want to file the claim under your policy's under-insured/uninsured clause...you can/will get your vehicle repaired by your insurance along with the rental vehicle you request, etc....and they will simply go after the other party's insurance...and it WILL NOT affect your rates (in Georgia).

 

[Sparky16]

The plan is to use our preferred shop to have the damage fixed, if the work is flawless we may keep it. Both wifey and I are on board with pursuing a new car though. Carmax quoted us nearly $2000 over what we paid for this brand new to sell it to them. That is hard to pass up.

Have you been to a new car dealer's lot lately?

You'll be surprised, not very many cars in dealers' lot, new or used. I drive by a few new car dealers' lot every morning, their lots are noticeably half empty what used to be full lots. That means higher price and not much, if any, negotiating room. I just checked my 2015 MDX value with Edmund's, it was the same as or higher than I paid for it 2.5 years ago!

 

[gregk24]

Who will decide if it's "flawless", you two or someone with no bias ?

How did you determine the initial estimate was lowball ? What amounts did body shops give you in comparison to the insurance estimate ?

My wife and I will decide since it is our vehicle. Flawless means OEM finish, indistinguishable between what it looked like before and after the repair.

 

[gregk24]

Have you been to a new car dealer's lot lately?

You'll be surprised, not very many cars in dealers' lot, new or used. I drive by a few new car dealers' lot every morning, their lots are noticeably half empty what used to be full lots. That means higher price and not much, if any, negotiating room. I just checked my 2015 MDX value with Edmund's, it was the same as or higher than I paid for it 2.5 years ago!

Yes, we will have to see what kind of deal our dealer will be able to give us.

 

[Gimpy1]

Who will decide if it's "flawless", you two or someone with no bias ?

How did you determine the initial estimate was lowball ? What amounts did body shops give you in comparison to the insurance estimate ?

My wife and I will decide since it is our vehicle. Flawless means OEM finish, indistinguishable between what it looked like before and after the repair.

That's the responsability of the shop YOU choose not the insurance company. They pay for the repairs but the quality of the repair is up to the shop' s body men and painter.