Also, if you get a big fat: "we can't help you", then move on to plan A... which is politely getting the car fixed and getting the other ins. co. to pay for it.

Once the car is FIXED, and the repairs are PAID FOR, *then* you can start exploring your options for a DV claim.

 

I don't want to be overly long-winded but what you're referring to, politely getting the car repaired correctly, means getting the car repaired at the BEST shop I know of and THEN getting the insurance co. to pay for the repair? I'm guessing getting them to pay would entail first calling them and telling them what I'd like to do THEN going to the new repair facility. Only reason I chose this shop was because of a "professional" recommendation. Not to mention I now live 2 hours from my hometown. I could've taken it somewhere there, as my dad is good friends with the owner of one of the est shops in that town, but I thought it to be a little "inconvenient" at the time. NOW tell me about inconvenient hah!

 

I feel you bro. Then you gotta push for another shop to fix it. There are laws they have to follow, and bottom line is that insurance companies have to pay for repairs in a liability situation. That is it. They can tell you no all they want to, but the bottom line is they are going to pay it. Explore the options with your insurance company, a shop of their choosing, and them going after the other policyholder's company for reimbursement.

I totally believe that you were calm, cool, and collected the first time around... But you might as well tell Mick to put down the towel, cuz Rock's got work to do! It's time to take a deep breath and keep battling. Tell Mick to cut you and threaten to kill him if he stops the fight. It hasn't been easy so far and it's not going to start now. You went for the head and didn't get the knockout. Now you gotta weaken them up with the body shots. Ain't gon' be no rematch!

What the hell am I talking about? Going to bed. Good luck man.

 

Exactly. Here is where you have to work your magic man.

Call them, talk to them, ask them if you take it to another shop can they file a "supplement" on this claim, to fix things that were missed. If so, then it's a done deal, take it and get it fixed.

If they give you the "hell no, go pound sand"... I'd start by escalating to their manager, then home office, then the head of claims. You could also call your insurance company in the meantime and see what they say about getting it fixed at the new shop and them paying the claim and assisting with the claim against the other company.

That's it for real. Any more will have to wait until tomorrow. Good luck.

 

HAH. I KNEW the insurance co. was sidestepping their responsibilities from day one! Seriously, why wouldn't they be responsible a liability claim. Their insured hit ME, they should do what they can to kiss my ***. Love the Rocky reference. But yeah..you might need sleep. I have almost 4 more hours of work for the night. Thanks again. Later...

 

RedSled... You are not too far from me. I work in Hanover!

 

Oh whaaat. That's cool man. It'd be nice to meet up with a few local Evo owners some time. I'm only like 15-20 minutes from CBRD. I'm in Elizabethtown now. Gotta update my info I guess...

 

Sorry to hear about your problems OP. Hope everything ends well for you. @FERNO, those are some of the best advices I've heard in awhile. Definitely going to keep this for future reference in case I get put in the same situation.

 

Yeah, seriously. I'm going to print this out for MY reference. I want it to be clear I'm not involving anyone on this forum, especially FERNO, in my case. This is purely for my reference only. This IS sound advice.

 

the repairs have already been paid for...its not the insurance companies fault that the money was squandered.

it's a sticky situation...supplemental claims are for additional damage caused by the claimed incident that is discovered after the initial repair. they are not meant to get more money out of the insurance company to make up for bad decision making. i doubt the insurance company will approve another $5-10k in supplemental damages on top of what they already paid out without HARD evidence. the evidence in this case does not exist.

should the insurance company (and subsequently its policy holders) pay $20k to fix $10k worth of damages? if the OP took his car to an approved repair shop, these issues would have be avoided. sorry OP if i sound a bit harsh...given your same situation, i would do WHATEVER it takes to get my car fixed. then again, i would never put myself in these circumstances.

best of luck in getting this worked out and back on the road

 

Yeah well, I feel that bad decision making is deciding to dick around with your cell phone...and then rear end somebody. Let's not forget that's the REAL reason I'm in this boat. I do have my reasons for not choosing a DRP shop as well. I did take a bit of risk in doing so, yes. I, and anyone for that matter should be VERY skeptical of letting an insurance company steer you towards a DRP. A DRP of their choice can make the repairs for the initial amount on the estimate and that's exactly what you'll get...an economy repair.

Almost any reasonably serious accident is going to involve further repair than what's listed on the first estimate, because of unforeseen damage. And it's likely that a DRP WILL find a way to fix the car for the amount on the initial estimate. A lot of those DRP's agree to work with insurance companies to make economy repairs to save overhead on the insurance companies' behalf.

Really, no offense, but I'm not really feeling anyone saying..."well you picked the shop, it's your fault." This is false. Insurance industry is all about risk.

That's like an insurance company saying, "well we're not going to cover your claim because YOU chose to drive on a notoriously winding road in poor conditions...and wreck your car under your own accord. So, it's not our problem, it's yours because you chose to drive under those conditions." This is completely irrelevant.
Thanks for the well wishes though I appreciate it. I will figure something out in due time here...

 

You are correct about the supplemental repair bit... but here is the kicker. If something related to that repair fails, IE, the stripped bolts falling out of the floorpan or crossmember, then that is to be fixed and WILL BE a supplement to the original repair. Once that is done, the body shop can triage with the field adjuster and get the rest of the repairs corrected.

I have personally sat in on the meeting with the head of claims and a body shop owner that improperly fixed a car. The insurance company fixed the claimant's car FIRST. Then went after the body shop that improperly repaired it and got some of their money back. In this case it was paid out in the exact amount of the final CCC repair estimate that the other shop submitted. The shop wasn't blindsided and knew that it was being fixed elsewhere because the ins. co. had already brought it to their attention. They paid it out of pocket rather than claimed it on their garagekeeper's liability.

Hard evidence is simply a body shop manager the insurance company that it needs to be fixed, and them sending out an adjuster to confirm it. This is a car repair, not a courtroom. This would hold true if it were a collision claim, but it's especially true in a liability claim.

The car WILL be fixed. If not, then someone is breaking the law. It's situations like these that lawyers and insurance commissioners come into play, and if you have someone not willing to pay, sometimes you have to seek reasonable help.

It can get sticky changing shops after an initial repair, but this isn't the first time it's been done.

redSLed, I got your PM. I'm anxious to hear how it all turns out down the road.

Good luck!