Insurance Adjuster estimate less than what it will cost to fix my car?

Question

I was in a car accident that was not my fault. I was hit from behind on the highway and the person who hit me admitted fault 100%. I have submitted a claim through this persons insurance company.

My car was less than 3 months old. I've come to terms with diminished value and that it will never be the way it was pre-accident, I'll never be able to sell it a fair value as it was in an accident, etc. and I'll just have tp deal with it. (As much as it angers and saddens me!!!)

The insurance adjuster came out today and gave me an estimate which I'm pretty sure is unfair. I'm still need to take it to a few body shops to get theirs estimates of what it will cost to fix it, but I want to be proactive.....

What happens when the three body shops I plan on going to estimate that its going to cost more than what the insurance adjuster wrote me the check for? What are the next steps to appealling this? Is this usually what happens? Write for an unfair amount?

Answer 1

I'm an insurance adjuster so please allow me to make this simple for you.

Don't get real upset about my next statement here.......but if you are not a qualified repair person you really don't know if the adjusters estimate is too low. So many people go in to a claim assuming the adjuster is going to rip them off. Trust me it is much better for the adjuster to write an accurate estimate. It saves us a lot of time and effort later on.

With that being said, you do not need to run around getting three estimates. That is a waste of your time and unneeded. Ask around to find a good reputable body shop that you want to repair the car. Take your car and the adjusters estimate to the shop. The body shop manager will write their own estimate and if they find the adjusters too low they will call the adjuster and negotiate a new price for an additional check, if necessary. That way the body shop does all the work for you. As long as you trust the shop you won't have anything to worry about.

If you haven't already done so, make sure the adjuster provides you a rental car for when the car is in the shop.

Good Luck

Answer 2

The insurance company is responsible to put you back in pre-accident condition.

If the actual repair costs more than what the adjuster estimated, the insurance company is responsible for paying the difference.

That's why you get quotes from shops and submit it to the adjuster. Often, as the shop works on your car, it finds more problems and end up costing more money to fix than the estimate. You are entitled to the increased payout also.

Many good shops deal directly with the insurance company.

Your best bet maybe to go through your own insurance company. If they have a preferred body shops, go there. Then, what they estimate is what your insurance company will pay. Any extra gets automatically paid. Then, they turn around and bill the other party's insurance company.

You will initially have to come up with the deductible, but the other insurance company will reimburse you for it.

When I had a situation similar to yours, I just took my car to the area's premere bodyshop, which also happens to be my insurance company's prefered shop. They took care of everything, including the paperwork. I paid deductable, which I later got back.

Answer 3

Yup, they can do that - depending on who sanded the bumper, when it was sanded, and why. Usually with minor-minor damage, the procedure goes like this. The repair shop draws up their estimate based on the damage that's visible, and the insurer approves it. If the actual repairs are going to be more involved than the original estimate, the shop calls the insurer to let them know. The shop will have all sorts of documentation on why the repairs can't be done as per the original estimate, and if their explanation is good enough the insurer approves the revised repairs. Since not all damage a) is visible on a quick inspection and b) can be fixed back to its pre-accident state, this sort of thing happens all the time. But if someone sanded the whole bumper on the assumption that only the damaged area couldn't be repaired up to code, then the insurer is going to have a problem. Their obligation is to repair only what was damaged, nothing more. They will repaint a whole bumper (or even a whole vehicle if need be) if the damaged area can't be fixed, but only after a documented effort has been made and found to be impossible. Insurance companies want mountains of paperwork for absolutely everything. If you don't have a mountain of paperwork showing that the entire bumper absolutely needed to be refinished, you're going to lose if you challenge them.

Answer 4

Hiya:

Really...it's not as bad as it sounds....

No matter what ANY estimate says - the insurance company owes to repair your car to its pre-loss condition.

You can go to three different companies and get three different estimates. That's why they are called estimates. No one KNOWS how much it is really going to cost until they get started on the repairs.

So - you have an estimate from the adjuster. What next?

Decide where you want to have your repairs done. Do you need to go out and get more estimates? No. Once you decide where you want your repairs - the adjuster will usually work with your repair facility to come up with an "agreed price".

When it comes to vehicle repairs...10 out of 10 times there are supplements. Additional things that need to be done or added or price adjustments AFTER the estimate is written. So, really - it's no big deal how many estimates you have and what their difference is.

It absolutely does not behoove anyone to write an unfair estimate. If you think it is low - chances are you may have had an inexperienced adjuster. But - like I said.....what they wrote is not going to matter (as long as you are getting your car repaired).

Now - about the depreciation. There is at least one state that allows compensation for depreciation. That trend is coming down the pike in other states. If your state doesn't have it then that means the LEGISLATURE of your state (insurance body) believes that if a vehicle is repaired to its pre-loss condition there effectively is no depreciation. If that is the kind of state you are in...start writing to your representatives to get it changed.

Hopefully you weren't hurt, too. Best o'luck to you!

~jifr!

Answer 5

The way I have done this the last 4 times someone hit me was this:
(you need police to have been there where the accident took place and the other party to accept liability in front of the police and even better, in writing)
1) Go to car repair place of my choice, get estimate
2) Send a copy of estimate to insurer via certificate mail, including all my details and phone number, police ref number and policy number of their insured, specifying they have 15 days to reply.
3) If after 15 days of this I heard no reply
4) Go to lawyer, get lawyer to send letter specifying that if they don't send check within 15 days we'll go to court, at this point they pay the lawyer's fee (usually less than $100) and all expenses I have run from time of accident till now. For instance if I use car to go to work and I rented a car, including insurance for rented car.
5) Within 15 days I get check with the rest of expenses
Here's some good lawyers, free to check with them: http://www.servicesarticles.com/Find-a-Lawyer.html












RE:
Insurance Adjuster estimate less than what it will cost to fix my car?
I was in a car accident that was not my fault. I was hit from behind on the highway and the person who hit me admitted fault 100%. I have submitted a claim through this persons insurance company.

My car was less than 3 months old. I'll just have tp deal with it. (As much as it angers and saddens me!!!)

The insurance adjuster came out today and gave me an estimate which I'm still need to take it to a few body shops to get theirs estimates of what it will cost to fix it, but I want to be proactive.....

What happens when the three body shops I plan on going to estimate that its going to cost more than what the insurance adjuster wrote me the check for? What are the next steps to appealling this? Is this usually what happens? Write for an unfair amount?

Answer 6

If the adjuster has given a low estimate you still have options. First after you get the three estimates you can contact the adjuster and show him the estimates and request an adjustment to his estimate. You also can appeal to your insurance company with the estimates for a pay off of the repairs to which ever place does the repairs. Finally if no satisfaction is gained you can appeal to the state board of insurance for a mediation of the claim.

IN ANY CASE OR ROAD YOU FOLLOW< GET ESTIMATES IN WRITING< TAKE PICTURES AND KEEP EVERYTHING WITH EXTRA COPIES.

Answer 7

Have you shared the insurance company's estimate with the body shop you plan to have repair your car? If you have not done this, don't assume the insurance company is trying to rip you off. Rather than going to a body shop to get an estimate, go to your chosen shop and provide them with the insurance company's estimate. The shop will contact the insurance company and negotiate the repair price if they disagree with the insurance company's estimate. Vehicle repairs can always be negotiated, if they couldn't you would be getting the exact same price from every shop you went to.

Answer 8

The adjuster will go with the lowest available estimate. That's just the way it is. Not sure if it varies state by state, but you can also file a diminished value claim with at fault insurer. This just says that your car will not bring in the trade value it would if it was never damaged. Good luck.

Answer 9

I might suggest that you try this internet site where onel can compare rates from the best companies: http://INSURANCEGRADES.INFO/index.html?src=1YAwfpdrVI50

RE :Insurance Adjuster estimate less than what it will cost to fix my car?
I was in a car accident that was not my fault. I was hit from behind on the highway and the person who hit me admitted fault 100%. I have submitted a claim through this persons insurance company.

My car was less than 3 months old. I've come to terms with diminished value and that it will never be the way it was pre-accident, I'll never be able to sell it a fair value as it was in an accident, etc. and I'll just have tp deal with it. (As much as it angers and saddens me!!!)

The insurance adjuster came out today and gave me an estimate which I'm pretty sure is unfair. I'm still need to take it to a few body shops to get theirs estimates of what it will cost to fix it, but I want to be proactive.....

What happens when the three body shops I plan on going to estimate that its going to cost more than what the insurance adjuster wrote me the check for? What are the next steps to appealling this? Is this usually what happens? Write for an unfair amount?
1 following 11 answers

Answer 10

I might suggest one to visit this website where you can get quotes from the best companies: http://cheap-insure.info/index.html?src=1YAmfjdmZK28

RE :Insurance Adjuster estimate less than what it will cost to fix my car?
I was in a car accident that was not my fault. I was hit from behind on the highway and the person who hit me admitted fault 100%. I have submitted a claim through this persons insurance company.

My car was less than 3 months old. I've come to terms with diminished value and that it will never be the way it was pre-accident, I'll never be able to sell it a fair value as it was in an accident, etc. and I'll just have tp deal with it. (As much as it angers and saddens me!!!)

The insurance adjuster came out today and gave me an estimate which I'm pretty sure is unfair. I'm still need to take it to a few body shops to get theirs estimates of what it will cost to fix it, but I want to be proactive.....

What happens when the three body shops I plan on going to estimate that its going to cost more than what the insurance adjuster wrote me the check for? What are the next steps to appealling this? Is this usually what happens? Write for an unfair amount?
1 following 12 answers