Vehicle repair problems

[OceanAnnie]

Basically someone, somewhere messed up and now the insurance company is trying to figure out the best way to get out of this without paying any more money. It does happen.

Yes. I know. I saw the writing on the wall. Soon we will probably be told any other issues were pre-existing and everything will come to a halt.

So filing a claim with my insurance company can turn this around?

 

[golfgal]

Yes. I know. I saw the writing on the wall. Soon we will probably be told any other issues were pre-existing and everything will come to a halt.

So filing a claim with my insurance company can turn this around?

It isn't uncommon to find additional damage from an accident after they start working on the car, what is unusual is that the repairs went forward when the amount of damage was found. Involving your insurance company will take the issue off your shoulders and put it onto your insurance company's claims department-they can deal with the other company instead of you. It will most likely speed up the process and conclude faster. You will also have their legal department to back you if they do try to say your car had preexisting conditions. Give them a call tomorrow and request a senior claims adjuster.

 

[OceanAnnie]

It isn't uncommon to find additional damage from an accident after they start working on the car, what is unusual is that the repairs went forward when the amount of damage was found. Involving your insurance company will take the issue off your shoulders and put it onto your insurance company's claims department-they can deal with the other company instead of you. It will most likely speed up the process and conclude faster. You will also have their legal department to back you if they do try to say your car had preexisting conditions. Give them a call tomorrow and request a senior claims adjuster.

I do understand additional damage will be found after the vehicle is broken down. I did expect some. The thing that bothers me the most is I mentioned the very things that were quirky with the vehicle, right after the accident. As a lay person, I knew it would be costly to fix. The issues weren't investigated because they didn't have those problems occur for them until later in the process.

Anyway, thank you, Golfgal for listening and for the advice. I will act on it. I'm hoping my insurance company will have a better outcome than what I foresee without them.

 

[manning]

I get what you are saying. My agent retired and turned over his accounts to another agency. I have my home owners and auto insurance through this company. Only time I hear from them is if they want to sell me life insurance, or umbrella coverage.
My old agent used to check in every 6 months. When my kids started driving he would review the rates every 6 months, and make sure each kid was on the car that had the lowest premium. When they went away to college, he also would check to see which city had the lowest rates, home or the city they were going to college in.
I called my new agent and asked her to do that, and she said they don't do that......and that my old agent was "kind of old school", and agents don't do that anymore. Thanks for the help!

And my response to her would be "I'm from the old school myself and will be looking for a new agency". Why give her the commission.

 

[bicker]

That is one of the things I've was pretty disappointed with, after my brother (an insurance adjuster, back then) explained it to me. The justice system simply does not generally put wronged parties back to where they were, before they were wronged. They talk a good game about making the wronged party "whole" but generally there are compromises. Surely, for the most horrific of losses, the loss of life, nothing could possibly make the wronged party whole. However, even for lesser losses, there is always some aspect that the wronged party is compensated for, and some aspect that the wronged party is not compensated for. Even in case of a smaller bit of damage, a dented fender let's say, just pulling out the dent and repainting, even the whole car, doesn't really put the wronged part back where they were before the damage was done. Sure, there are cases where the compensation actually leaves the wronged party even better off than before, for example, if a parked car, which was severely defective already, is totaled, that surely could end up with a resolution where the wronged party actually is better-off than before. But those are the exceptions, and (in a way) accidents of the system - the system is simply not intended to bring about that kind of result.

 

[manning]

And I was fortunate enough on any accident the other insurance company handled everything well. (One time I was lucky that I have Allstate, and so did the person who hit me.)

I got rear ended by someone who had Allstate and what a nightmare. I have State Farm and at the time didn't know better to file with my insuance (got bawled out by my agent when he found out).

Allstate dragged their feet. Took them two weeks to even look at the car which was sitting at the dealership. The dealership called ME to find out what was happening. They said that Allstate was the most difficult to deal with, State Farm the best.

 

[undertheradar]

So to clarify, you notified your insurance agent, but filed your claim with the other insurance company, thus not having to pay deductible? Now you are having issues after having the whole thing handled by the other insurance company and want your company to take over? Very interested to know the companies involved here as most would not step in after you advised them you wouldn't use them. I understand the agent wishing you luck, it was your choice not to have your insurance company handle the claim. This is what you pay for and what they do. It is unusual to ask your company to get involved after the repairs have been done. Not sure what you are expecting from your agent or your insurance company at this point? Your insurance company isn't going to suddenly decide to total the vehicle and issue you a check at this point, as the other company has taken responsibility and been performing repairs. How old is the vehicle in question and are you hoping to purchase a new vehicle instead? If so, you can sell it after the repairs are completed.

 

[undertheradar]

That is one of the things I've was pretty disappointed with, after my brother (an insurance adjuster, back then) explained it to me. The justice system simply does not generally put wronged parties back to where they were, before they were wronged. They talk a good game about making the wronged party "whole" but generally there are compromises. Surely, for the most horrific of losses, the loss of life, nothing could possibly make the wronged party whole. However, even for lesser losses, there is always some aspect that the wronged party is compensated for, and some aspect that the wronged party is not compensated for. Even in case of a smaller bit of damage, a dented fender let's say, just pulling out the dent and repainting, even the whole car, doesn't really put the wronged part back where they were before the damage was done. Sure, there are cases where the compensation actually leaves the wronged party even better off than before, for example, if a parked car, which was severely defective already, is totaled, that surely could end up with a resolution where the wronged party actually is better-off than before. But those are the exceptions, and (in a way) accidents of the system - the system is simply not intended to bring about that kind of result.

Very true. I had a parked car hit by a drunk driver. My insurance paid. My car had 7000 miles on it at 20 months and the insurance company put used replacement parts on my car, as is allowed in CA. To add further insult, the 2 tires that needed replaced were not replaced at full, replacement value, and I had to pay the difference. They do not make you whole!

 

[bicker]

Though I wasn't really talking about (our own) insurance: We control how much we pay for our own insurance, and if we are willing to pay enough for insurance we can probably get someone to guarantee to make us truly whole in case something goes wrong - Lloyd's of London, if necessary. It'll just be extremely expensive.

I was thinking more so about when someone else is at fault. There, we have no control over what kind of insurance that person has, and indeed it shouldn't matter. Once fault is established, what's left is to determine the "damages" and then that amount is owed by the person at fault to the wronged party. But justice doesn't mean that the amount established as "damages" equals the full and entire amount truly lost.

 

[OceanAnnie]

So to clarify, you notified your insurance agent, but filed your claim with the other insurance company, thus not having to pay deductible? Now you are having issues after having the whole thing handled by the other insurance company and want your company to take over? Very interested to know the companies involved here as most would not step in after you advised them you wouldn't use them. I understand the agent wishing you luck, it was your choice not to have your insurance company handle the claim. This is what you pay for and what they do. It is unusual to ask your company to get involved after the repairs have been done. Not sure what you are expecting from your agent or your insurance company at this point? Your insurance company isn't going to suddenly decide to total the vehicle and issue you a check at this point, as the other company has taken responsibility and been performing repairs. How old is the vehicle in question and are you hoping to purchase a new vehicle instead? If so, you can sell it after the repairs are completed.

For some reason we keep covering the same ground, you and I.
I don't know why you seem to want our case be a certain way, but it just isn't how you describe.

I don't think it is unusual at all to involve our insurance at any stage. Our agent has been informed from the beginning and told us to call him if there were any problems. Why would he do that if it is so cut and dry as you describe? He didn't tell us we won't work with you if you work with the other company. Where do you get this information of yours??

I couldn't foresee any trouble with the other party's insurance. But our agent did say he would speak to their agent if we needed him to. He offered. I declined because the other party's insurance is still working with us. We haven't had any problems yet. We discussed it and he did see it could get even more complicated. Then our agent told us, "good luck", in dealing with the other insurance agency as it is already a complicated matter. It wasn't shutting the door for us to use ours. For some reason this is a sticking point with you. I don't understand why.

I do understand that you don't know what we expect from our insurance company. I expect guidance and maneuvering with the other insurance company to get us to the point where the vehicle is reliable or if it cannot be repaired to be compensated in some amount to get a "like" vehicle. Not new. We can not accept a vehicle that is not reliable. And we still need a vehicle.

Additionally, selling the vehicle would not bring much. Now it has a history of being in an accident, extensive damage, and it isn't reliable. Not much of a market for that.

Anyway, it isn't helpful to keep going back and forth about the insurance. It isn't an issue. But for some reason you keep wanting to point out it is. Even when I tell you it is not. Why is that?

ETA- Once we file a claim with our insurance, I imagine they would take over where the gaps are and would pursue the other party's insurance to be reimbursed by them.

 

[tvguy]

Very true. I had a parked car hit by a drunk driver. My insurance paid. My car had 7000 miles on it at 20 months and the insurance company put used replacement parts on my car, as is allowed in CA. To add further insult, the 2 tires that needed replaced were not replaced at full, replacement value, and I had to pay the difference. They do not make you whole!

Well, their position is they did make you whole. They put used replacement parts on a used car, and they refused to replace used tires with new.
If they used new parts and tires, they would have given you a windfall.....at least that is how the courts and law look at it.

 

[tvguy]

I got rear ended by someone who had Allstate and what a nightmare. I have State Farm and at the time didn't know better to file with my insuance (got bawled out by my agent when he found out).

Allstate dragged their feet. Took them two weeks to even look at the car which was sitting at the dealership. The dealership called ME to find out what was happening. They said that Allstate was the most difficult to deal with, State Farm the best.

I had the same situation, except flip the insurance companies. I had Allstate, my parked car got hit by a drunk driver insured by State Farm. State Farm wouldn't even talk to me because their insured hadn't filed a claim. Incident happened on a Saturday, by Wednesday Allstate said if State Farm didn't settle by Friday, they would pay it and wait for State Farm to reimburse them.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Very true that the other insurance company would not even barely talk to me without their policy holder filing a claim. (Even with the police accident report in hand.)

 

[undertheradar]

For some reason we keep covering the same ground, you and I.
I don't know why you seem to want our case be a certain way, but it just isn't how you describe.

I don't think it is unusual at all to involve our insurance at any stage. Our agent has been informed from the beginning and told us to call him if there were any problems. Why would he do that if it is so cut and dry as you describe? He didn't tell us we won't work with you if you work with the other company. Where do you get this information of yours??

I couldn't foresee any trouble with the other party's insurance. But our agent did say he would speak to their agent if we needed him to. He offered. I declined because the other party's insurance is still working with us. We haven't had any problems yet. We discussed it and he did see it could get even more complicated. Then our agent told us, "good luck", in dealing with the other insurance agency as it is already a complicated matter. It wasn't shutting the door for us to use ours. For some reason this is a sticking point with you. I don't understand why.

I do understand that you don't know what we expect from our insurance company. I expect guidance and maneuvering with the other insurance company to get us to the point where the vehicle is reliable or if it cannot be repaired to be compensated in some amount to get a "like" vehicle. Not new. We can not accept a vehicle that is not reliable. And we still need a vehicle.

Additionally, selling the vehicle would not bring much. Now it has a history of being in an accident, extensive damage, and it isn't reliable. Not much of a market for that.

Anyway, it isn't helpful to keep going back and forth about the insurance. It isn't an issue. But for some reason you keep wanting to point out it is. Even when I tell you it is not. Why is that?

ETA- Once we file a claim with our insurance, I imagine they would take over where the gaps are and would pursue the other party's insurance to be reimbursed by them.

Details are important and I somehow didn't understand that when you vented about your agent, you were glad what he has done and were somehow stating how well the whole thing had gone. As for gaps, I don't understand what you are wanting unless you think your insurance might "total" the vehicle in question and pay you a check. I have never heard of someone switching which insurance company is handling the claim so far into a claim. As for my own experience, over a 12 month period I was lucky enough to have 2 parked vehicles hit by drunk drivers, one of them twice. My own experiences were quite different from yours and as I stated earlier in the thread, there have been several posts about insurance companies not providing service that the OP's expected and in all of them, the OP did not want to use his/her own insurance(avoiding paying deductible, not having rental car coverage, things like that). Years ago I ran rental car fleets and had much experience with the different insurance companies and the process in place for claims. There are good adjusters and bad but never were claims handled between agents.

TVGUY: That "windfall" was so pleasing when it involved a total of 4 tires on 2 vehicles with the same damage. Gotta love what costs can be passed along in our great state of California.

 

[undertheradar]

Good to know.



It's weird. He didn't come across as "just" a salesman during this process. He was knowledgeable in the beginning and helpful. I didn't get the sense that he wouldn't help me or couldn't. But that changed when things got complicated.



My agent from the beginning did tell me to call if I had any questions or concerns.



I did expect more. I thought the agent would help me with options, especially when things got complicated.



Thank you. I have a paper trail. I should document the rest.



That is not true. My agent did offer to call the insurance agent for the other party, but he said they were doing everything they should do. He saw no need for it and after he explained it, neither did I.

The other party's insurance has been timely up to now. And they have taken care of the expenses as we expected them to, up till now. I can't say they haven't been responsive. There was a new development before the weekend. It may be they will continue to be accommodating. I don't know.

I am concerned that the expense wasn't monitored more closely and that it wasn't determined to be a loss. If it can be repaired and the integrity restored we will be fine. In a nutshell, I am very skeptical. The issues are complex and have been ongoing for about 2 months.

I'm worried the insurance company has spent almost the full value of the vehicle trying to get it repaired and at some point they will say, we have spent all we will spend. Leaving us with nothing to drive and nothing to recoup. They are heavily invested in the vehicle. I don't think we can go the totaled route now, even though it isn't fixed.

It's the not knowing and the dragging out that's so stressful. I carry precious cargo in our vehicle and I want it done right or not at all. I can't accept the vehicle if I can't rely on it.

I hope for a good outcome.

This post reads like a complaint to me. That must be where I somehow took it to mean that you weren't happy with the service being provided.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Details are important and I somehow didn't understand that when you vented about your agent, you were glad what he has done and were somehow stating how well the whole thing had gone. As for gaps, I don't understand what you are wanting unless you think your insurance might "total" the vehicle in question and pay you a check. I have never heard of someone switching which insurance company is handling the claim so far into a claim. As for my own experience, over a 12 month period I was lucky enough to have 2 parked vehicles hit by drunk drivers, one of them twice. My own experiences were quite different from yours and as I stated earlier in the thread, there have been several posts about insurance companies not providing service that the OP's expected and in all of them, the OP did not want to use his/her own insurance(avoiding paying deductible, not having rental car coverage, things like that). Years ago I ran rental car fleets and had much experience with the different insurance companies and the process in place for claims. There are good adjusters and bad but never were claims handled between agents.

TVGUY: That "windfall" was so pleasing when it involved a total of 4 tires on 2 vehicles with the same damage. Gotta love what costs can be passed along in our great state of California.

The agent and I have had detailed conversations. I understood where he was coming from. I didn't particularly like the fact that he wasn't able to give me more options nor did I care for the way he put it. But I knew what he meant from our conversations.

I think we do have very different experiences. I don't think it is uncommon to have different experiences.

This post reads like a complaint to me. That must be where I somehow took it to mean that you weren't happy with the service being provided.

It seems we are not destined to be on the same page. I have gotten some sound advice from people that did understand my case and I am satisfied. Thank you anyway.