mercury insurance claim

by Guest » Mon Sep 14, 2009 08:22 pm
Guest

My car was badly vandalized at a bar and needs a lot of body work and respraying. I filed a claim with Mercury insurance who asked if I had a preferred body shop, currently I am waiting on a friend at our local BMW dealership to give me a good body shop. He estimates the damage at around $4000. I have to call back the adjuster at Mercury with me preferred shop and we will all meet to grind out a fair price.

To most having your car vandalized is a tragedy, and to me at this current time it can be somewhat of a blessing as I was recently laid off and am falling behind on my mortgage payments.

I do have a friend who said he would do the work for half of what the insurance pays, leaving me able to catch up a little with my mortgage. So my question is will Mercury pay the chosen body shop directly or will I receive a check for the total damage to pay the shop myself?

I know this is the wrong of going about it but in these circumstances, survival of my family is the highest priority. Any help and guidance is greatly appreciated.

Total Comments: 5

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 09:14 pm Post Subject:

It all depends on if their is a lien on the vehicle. If there is a lien the check should be made payable to you and either the lien holder or you and the body shop doing the work. If their is a lien, most of the time the insurance company will make the check payable to you and the body shop. If this is your friend and he's willing to endorse the check so you can cash it, then this will be your little secret. I still don't see this as a problem as it sounds like your friend is still making the proper repairs to the vehicle.

If there is no lien, the check should be made payable to you.

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 10:34 pm Post Subject:

I have seen comprehensive claims paid directly to the insureds even with liens. Most policies state that they will pay for a loss in money for the amount of repairs required based on prevailing competitive rates and usual and customary practices in the area. If they pay you anything less than the prevailing costs of the repairs it will seem to me that they may have not fulfilled the terms of the contract with you.

If you find someone to do it cheaper that doesn't mean that is all your insurer is required to pay your for damages. Most policy language states that they must indemnify you for your loss, I haven't seen one that requires repairs be made to the vehicle. Ultimately it will be you who has to pay the piper if the cheaper repairs do not restore to pre loss condition to the satisfaction of the lienholder and they can't cover your liability to them upon a repossession.

You most likely have a clause in your contract with the loan company that states you are required to keep insurance on the vehicle that would cover maintaining the value of the car until the loan is paid off. If your insurer will not insure portions of you policy due to unrepaired damage, this may be your dilemma. If you have sufficient equity in the vehicle if repossessed, it may not matter. Expenses of selling the car at auction to settle your loan contract and the money they receive might cover your liability.

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 10:48 pm Post Subject:

Thanks for your help. I am actually surprised how quickly Mercury are acting based on what a simple google search brings up...lots of unhappy clients! I gave the adjuster the phone number and address of my friend and an appraiser will meet with us on Wednesday settle on an amount. It all seems to be moving forward quickly.

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 12:17 am Post Subject:

based on what a simple google search brings up...lots of unhappy clients!

Mercury is a huge company in terms of numbers of insured's. So there are bound to be many complaints. With that said, I've had friends work at Mercury insurance and knowing how the company has adjusters handle claims, I'd not want to work there. Plus, I applied at one time.... they gave me a spelling test (!). I suck at spelling!

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 12:32 am Post Subject:

It is true that people rush online to complain but rarely do to acknowledge a happy claims process. I am happy at how its been handled so far. If all goes smoothly I will go against the grain and shout from the rooftops about how great Mercury are. Their rates are unbelievably cheap. I pay less than a third of what Geico quoted me.

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