Getting the most money from insurance adjuster?

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: joegreen
So someone drove into the front left side of my 2002 Honda accord while at the toll booths. The insurance adjuster is going to come out and say how much he will give for the repair. How do I get the most money for repairs and make sure he does not skimp me on the little things that add up or may be hidden behind the damaged area?


I used to do auto liability, good advice so far. With a 2002 they may say it is totalled since the repair estimate may be greater than the car's value.

Two ways to do it - first as mentiined take it to a body shop and tell them where it is.

Second, if you have the coverage and can pay the deductible, file with your own insurance and they will go after the other company for tye damages, getting your deductible back in the bargain.

Under no circumstances should you sign anything from the other company while receiving a check, since they can wash their hands of it. You are welcome to PM me with questions.

 

[Silverado12]

This happened to my once, and the adjustor came to me (Progressive) and typed me a check right from the printer in his car. I thought the settlement was more than fair and didn't have to argue and fight with him.

 

[Andrew1972]

I'd work with a shop who likes the adjuster/company. It is a give and take and realize your vehicle is over 10 years old so used parts etc may be used and likely better then non oem junk.

I found my best experience body wise was with the insurance shop. No loose ends or bits, hazy paint or oddball things.

 

[joegreen]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll get some quotes from some auto body shops as step one.

 

[chefwong]

You're going about it the wrong way.....don't go shopping for quotes.

Find a GOOD Body Shop.
Ask friends, family.

Once you have a good body shop of choice.....let the insc. see the car at the shop, and let the shop deal with them. It's in your best interests...if not the shop

 

[joegreen]

I don't know anyone who knows much about cars let alone had any body work done or how to tell if the work done was good. All I have to rely on are online reviews. I want to get some feed back from several body shops on the damage so I can get a better idea if I can fix the car myself or not.

 

[turtlevette]

You dont necessarily want a good body shop. You really want an expensive body shop. Take it to the Honda dealer for an estimate. See how that compares to the insurance estimate. If it's a lot more tell the ins co you want the amount the dealer estimated.

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: turtlevette
You dont necessarily want a good body shop. You really want an expensive body shop. Take it to the Honda dealer for an estimate. See how that compares to the insurance estimate. If it's a lot more tell the ins co you want the amount the dealer estimated.

Even if a body shop says it'll cost $20k to fix it, that doesn't mean the insurance company will just give you $20k. If it's too expensive, the insurance company will just total it out and write you a check for what they think the car is worth. Then you get to start the negotiating process all over again with what YOU think it's worth.

 

[joegreen]

ill post up some picks so you guys can see the damage later.

 

[raytseng]

Originally Posted By: exranger06
Originally Posted By: turtlevette
You dont necessarily want a good body shop. You really want an expensive body shop. Take it to the Honda dealer for an estimate. See how that compares to the insurance estimate. If it's a lot more tell the ins co you want the amount the dealer estimated.

Even if a body shop says it'll cost $20k to fix it, that doesn't mean the insurance company will just give you $20k. If it's too expensive, the insurance company will just total it out and write you a check for what they think the car is worth. Then you get to start the negotiating process all over again with what YOU think it's worth.


Yea that's where the good comes in. You want both a expensive body shop that charges the appropriate premium rate for their work.

If they feel that indeed to repair the car properly it'll cost $20k, then they SHOULD quote the job at $20k.

If they are just padding their pocket with their $20k, the insurance company is going to tell them to pound sand and they've lost the sale, so the shop isn't going to be dumb about it.

The Premium pricing reflects insurance partnerships and body shop accreditation; so it HELP push paper where you don't have to deal with it, rather than acting as a roadblock.

If you're a guy off the street paying in cash, then you can just do a handshake deal with the body guy, who can quote you for $300 I'll fix it the quick way and just blend the paint. for $500 I'll reshoot the whole panel; and give you a choice based on what you want to do.

But with insurance, you need a service manager who knows how to push paper, write up the estimates formally with book hours all accounted for and all that. And if you have concerns, you ask the service manager about it, and he's going to be your advocate to extract money (well to be precise, get you your car back, fixed; you are not entitled to any money or profit about of it).

OP, if you're stuck on finding a lead, I'd start with these which is the I-Car gold certified shops, perhaps cross-referenced with whatever you find on yelp.

https://www.goldclass.com/

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: 69GTX
My insurance company is one of the top rated in the world. Maybe they need to step up a bit on their body shops.


The insurance company cares most about keeping costs down. Which means fixing the car as cheaply as possible while doing an adequate job.

The local Toyota body shop here does a very good job. It's a joint venture with this company:

http://www.dcrsystems.net/MetroPage.html

Very clean and organized shop. Even the floors were spotless as you can kind of see in the pictures. A deer hit my dad's car on the highway and about a year later a truck back in the car damaging the rear door jamb. Where the old section had to be cut out and a new one welded in. Lifetime guarantee on the work as long as he owns it.

This shop wasn't approved by both the insurance companies BUT both insurance adjusters said they are a top notch facility.