Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:29 pm Post subject: Help me decide on a claim
I'm a multiple line (auto & home) Allstate customer with no auto claims or reported tickets for over 10 years. My rate for the auto policy just went up by about $215/year.
About 10-12 days ago, I stopped by a store on the way home from work and when I came back from inside the store, I noticed that the driver's side rear bumper & fender was all messed up.
I've had 3 body shops look at it, and the estimates are between $1,200 and $1,800.
I made an anonymous (i.e. I didn't give them my name or policy #) call to Allstate's claims dept, and they said that if I decided to make a claim, it would go on the hit & run portion of my policy ($250 deductible).
Any thoughts on the likelihood of a further rate increase if I make this claim?
How involved is the adjuster in the claims process - does he babysit the repair work & everything, or is he done once I get the check?
I am an Allstate agent. I try to never guess on whether or not a claim is going to increase your premium. I have seen it go both ways; when I think it won't - it did...and vice versa.
My guess is the adjuster will either look at it and tell you how much, or have you go to someone who is authorized by Allstate to do repairs. You will pay them the deductible and Allstate will pay the rest.
You could asking your agent what he/she thinks. Also ask him/her what the cause is for your $215/year increase. My first thoughts are lowering of the new car discount, just a basic across the board rate increase - to name a few.
( I assume your agent has done a complete policy review - both home and auto - to make sure you have all the coverages you need? ) _________________ Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. - Ferris Bueller
I understand that nobody can say for sure, but at the very least, your (or anyone else here's) guess would be better than mine. You and the rest of this community have exponentially more experience than I do with the insurance business. I'm just after an idea of the odds. Which way does the wind blow on stuff like this? Am I looking at a 25% chance, 50% chance or 75% chance of an increase? It's not like I'm going to come back here & hold posters accountable for being wrong..
My question with regard to the adjuster was more along the line of - do I get a check in my hands, or does he make me pick a repair shop? I'm considering getting another vehicle soon, so I might just trade it in w/o getting repairs. In that case, the check for the claim would be for the purpose of making up the loss in trade-in value.
My agent is a friend of mine, and she made recommendations for deductible & coverage levels when I signed up. However, I just looked at my policy, and I have some pretty low deductibles on a travel trailer that's insured. We only pull it once a year for about 100 miles round-trip, so low deductibles on that seem a little wasteful.
"Hit and Run" portion? Great.... either this term was not used or the person you spoke to was either clueless or making up coverage.
This is either a not at fault collision claim or a uninsured motorist property damage claim (UMPD... which only a handful of states require to be offered).
The difference could be very important. What state do you live in?
I'd say that a UMPD claim has a much less chance of affecting rates then a not at fault collision claim.
In either case I'd _guess_ that this single claim would not affect your rates other then perhaps losing a safe drivers discount for a policy period.
sorry tcope, "hit & run portion" was a mis-type on my part.
They said that a hit & run incident goes on the uninsured motorist portion of my policy. When I called to feel out what my agent thought, she said she thought the same thing. I'll correct my original post.
I'm hoping you really have UMPD and not uninsured motorist bodily injury. In that 2 people have told you that you do, I'll assume that this is correct.
While no one can know for sure, Id say that there is little chance that this claim would affect your rates as it's being address under a coverage that takes the place of another person's policy. That is, the coverage in no way comes close to an "at fault" coverage. So I doubt its considered in the same regard. As I mentioned, you might want to inquire from your agent if you will still loss any safe driver discounts but even if you did, it should only be removed for one policy period. You would save much more not having to pay $1200 in repairs.
Personally, I'd not think twice about filing the claim.
As far as the adjuster goes, I've seen it go both ways.
1. The adjuster looks at the car and determines how much it will cost to repair - cuts you the check (less your deductible) or asks you where you are going to take the car and makes the check out to them. You give the check to the repair facility along with your deductible.
2. Tells you to go to _______ or _______ or _______ (all approved repair facilities). They will look at your car and "bill" Allstate for the repairs. These places have already been "blessed" by Allstate as quality repair places with prices that go along with Allstate usually determines. You will pay them your deductible and Allstate takes care of the rest. _________________ Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. - Ferris Bueller
tcope - I just double checked my policy. I have both UMPI and UMPD. BTW, I'm in Texas. Forgot to answer that earlier..
fireyone - My rate went up by the $200 already, on it's own, with no claim activity. I'm considering whether or not to file this claim, and want to get an idea for the likelihood of my rates going up if I do.
Like you said, $16.66 per month really isn't that bad. Possibly a rate increase and/or your car is a year older (new car discount drops)? _________________ Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. - Ferris Bueller
I checked out my coverages & it just looks like an across the board increase in rates...
So... Back to my question.. My wife & I both have great driving records and no claims for >10 years. Add that to this not even conceivably being my fault.. I'm getting the feeling that it's not a terrible idea to go with a claim?
And LIG - are there any magic words or other tactics that I can use that to get the adjuster to just cut me a check rather than get involved in the repair process?
Ask you agent about the adjuster that works your area. He/she would be the best one to gauge how that will go.
He/she might even know the adjuster and be able to say, "Hey look, just let my customer go to ______ to get it fixed - he's been a customer for over 10 years, no claims. I want this to go as smooth as possible for my customer."
(are you attempting to keep the adjuster completely out of this and have the check cut directly to you?) _________________ Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. - Ferris Bueller
First a UMPD claim I seriously doubt could be classified as a 'charegable' accident which is the only way it would cause a rate increase...
No magic words needed tell the adjuster you want the draft made payable to you period...it's your choice not the adjusters...they cannot insist that you repair your vehicle...they can however and have to include your lein holder on the draft if you have one...then you just send it to the lein holder and apply it to your principle...or allow it to make payments (bad idea)....if there is no lein holder then they can pay you direct....do not accept any arguement from them on this topic..if you get one (which i doubt) let us know and we'll help you with that....
Bottom line...your rates shouldn't go up with a UMPD claim (you can also contact your dept of ins..they can answer whether it is allowed or not)....the rep can pay you direct it's up to you if and when you repair the vehicle... and everyones ins. is too high...but honestly it probably wouldn't hurt you to check around for rates with other companies...make sure you are comparing apples to apples (same coverages, limits, deductibles)...one more thing...the lower the deductible the higher the premium...you might want to look at your rates if you increase your deductibles (can't usually on UMPD they are the same for everyone) especially on that trailer...I'd raise that puppy to 1k if it were me... What are your collision and comp deductibles on your cars and what is your homeowners deductible? _________________ Have you been helped by a poster? Do you want to show your appreciation? YOU CAN !! Just simply click on the donate button and send them some coin!
What are your collision and comp deductibles on your cars and what is your homeowners deductible?
