Motor vehicle accident

by will072185 » Fri Jan 22, 2010 10:02 pm

My son had an accident before Christmas! His insurance company came out and gave an estimate. Since his truck has been at the body-shop (approx. 5wks) his insurance company has sent/faxed the body-shop 2 new estimates, each different from each other as well as the original.

Total Comments: 11

Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 12:12 am Post Subject:

The estimate the body shop wrote should be the only one to worry about. The insurer's estimate means very little.

Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 04:04 am Post Subject:

The insurer's estimate means very little.

Other then this is what they are going to pay. The owner and/or body shop can make whatever repairs they want at whatever cost. This does not mean this is what the carrier is going to pay.

Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 04:54 am Post Subject:

Other then this is what they are going to pay.



Only if that was the agreement, if not and depending on what the OP's situation is. If it were me, I would be more concerned about the estimate the shop wrote and less about the estimates the carrier wrote.

Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 05:52 am Post Subject:

Only if that was the agreement

Sure, the OP could file a Bad Faith claim against his own carrier. Course, this would either be in small claims court or the OP could pay an attorney to represent him. But I live in the real world.

Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 01:44 pm Post Subject:

Sure, the OP could file a Bad Faith claim against his own carrier



Bad faith? For what?

But I live in the real world.



As do I. I am just asking the question, what was the agreement?

Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 06:04 pm Post Subject:

The agreement on a 1st party claim will be along the lines of "we will pay for... repairs..." All carriers that I know of have carefully reworded the 'back to the same condition" type of clause that were in policies.

While this pretty much covers the carrier, I'm not even bring up that point. What I'm saying is that the carrier is going to hand the insured payment. Now the insured can make whatever repairs he wants. They could cost as much as the carrier issued or they could cost 10x as much. If the OP does not mind paying out of pocket then yes, the insured's estimate means very little. Otherwise it meas a _lot_. From my experience no one want to pay out of their pocket (hence the "real world" comment).

Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 09:54 pm Post Subject:

What I'm saying is that the carrier is going to hand the insured payment. Now the insured can make whatever repairs he wants.



Agreed. But normally what ends up happening, the vehicle ends up in a shop and the carrier expects a supplement, and then the additional is paid. That is more than likely what has happened here, with the additinal estimates being sent. If the shop agreed to go off the insurers estimate.

Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 11:38 pm Post Subject:

Oh, I took that a different way. I thought you were saying that the carriers appraisal should just be ignored. What you were mentioning is that the appraisal be used but that there was probably a supp that the carrier would be adding in.

Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 11:50 pm Post Subject:

OP I'm sure what's happened, is that as the repair and/or tear down continued on your boys car, additional damage was found, and supplements written, the adjuster was called to the shop, and wrote this supp., (and likely paid it to the shop), hense the 'new' estimate, they are just keeping you apprised of what is going on with your repair. That's all..

And trench, I took it the same way Tcope did when I read your first response. If it's a carrier that writes their own sheets (and clearly this is), then that is the one they will pay from. I'm sure in the OP's case, they are working with the shop on these supps.

OP, really over five weeks in the shop? why?

Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 05:59 pm Post Subject:

Sorry for the confusion

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