Car accident + insurance

dell30rb

dell30rb

Final Approach
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May 18, 2011
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Raleigh NC
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Ren
This morning my girlfriend got rear ended (I can't think of a better way to put this, so laugh away)

Anyway it was a little more than a fender bender but the car is driveable. She got hit by a big truck towing a landscaping trailer, bumper is bashed in and the quarter panel is slightly crumpled. The guy who hit her was kind of a jerk but did give all insurance info. Unfortunately she did not call the police and did not call me until after he had left. She hit her nose on the steering wheel and was bleeding but says she is just fine and its not broken.

She called her insurance agent and gave him the other guy's info. Her agent contacted the other ins. company. The other party's insurance called her this afternoon and asked her to get an estimate, and have the shop send it to the insurance company directly.

The car is a new, 2011 Chevy equinox. Should I tell her to take the car to the chevy dealer for an estimate, or a reputable local body shop? There happens to be a large chevy dealer right down the street from us making this a convenient option.
 
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The dealer may not have a body shop, but it doesn't hurt to check. My insurance co, the last time I had a damage claim, sent me to a body shop that they recommended. I could have gone to any shop, but I would get a longer warranty if I used the shop the ins co recommended. I ended up getting a number of estimates on my own because I wasn't sure if it would meet the deductible or not, and they all came in within a few bucks of each other anyway. Body shops and ins cos deal with fender benders all the time and know how much it will cost to repair. Best thing to do is go with a body shop that's been recommended by friends - take a close look at any paint, that's where you'll be able to tell how good a job they did. Everything else, like bumpers, they'll just replace with new. But matching paint is where the art comes in.
 
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Depends on the Chevy dealer, the local one here... no way. If perhaps they (the ins company) has an agreement with someone in the area, maybe ask em for minimal PITA. It might be a good shop. I got hit by a guy who didn't have any brakes, I spoke with his insurance company and they asked if I minded using "Taylor Auto Body". Why he** no I didn't mind.. they were the best in the business.
 
Thanks. The local dealer did not have a body shop. I did have the bright idea to call my high school buddy who's family business is a big used car lot and I got some recommendations for good local body shops
 
One more Q - the other party's insurance asked her to get one estimate and have that body shop send it to them directly. I'm thinking it might be wise to get at least two estimates, and have them sent to HER agent - and let him talk with the other party's insurance company.

Another thing I am concerned about is diminished value - its a 6 month old car and this is probably several grand worth of damage. The bumper got pushed into and bent the quarter panel and liftgate
 
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The body shop can be your choice. If the insurance carrier is one of the well known ones, all reputable shops already have agreements in place with the carriers.

Often the carriers will try to push you to one they have a pet relationship with. That usually is an okay thing. But it never hurts to do your homework on the shop to discover information about quality of work, customer satisfaction, and how well they will help afterwards (as in, if you find a problem related to what they did).

If you want some recommendations for good repair shops, call the prominent auto recyclers in your area. We always know who's the best for what type of work that needs doing.
 
dell30rb said:
One more Q - the other party's insurance asked her to get one estimate and have that body shop send it to them directly. I'm thinking it might be wise to get at least two estimates, and have them sent to HER agent - and let him talk with the other party's insurance company.
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I agree with this.

Your premium has already prepaid for YOUR claim rep to handle this process. Plus they know how to get it all on record in the right way.

And since this was a rear end collision and injury did occur, don't sign anything that closes out any medical issues until the young lady is 100%.
 
dell30rb said:
One more Q - the other party's insurance asked her to get one estimate and have that body shop send it to them directly. I'm thinking it might be wise to get at least two estimates, and have them sent to HER agent - and let him talk with the other party's insurance company.
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The 2 times I've been in an accident, the other party was uninsured. So I had to sue and get a judgment (got it, still haven't collected a cent). The other time the insurance company asked me if I minded using their guy, I didn't mind since I knew the reputation. I just dropped it off and picked it up, no hassle at all.

She's in the driver's seat here.. to an extent. If it were her insurance and her fault and she were making a claim to fix her car, she might be at their mercy a little. They don't want sued and as long as she's not trying to scam them, they'll most likely pay for whoever she wants to do it as long as it's within reason. She should have gotten a police report though.
 
bartmc said:
She should have gotten a police report though.
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Yeah that was the first thing I said to her :mad2:

Esp. since her nose was bleeding after the accident. She says she is fine but i'm guessing if there was enough force to send her into the steering wheel that she is gonna be real sore tomorrow. Apparently the guy was miffed and wanted to get on his way so she went along with just taking his insurance info. Asshat..
 
Years ago, Karen was hit six times in seven years.

Having lived through dealing with both good and bad "battles" over repairs during that lovely time in our lives, I have only one rule now...

If someone tries to leave the scene of the accident prior to the cops arriving, I say, "Feel free, you'll be charged with Hit and Run."

Too many future problems.
 
its even better to have the body shops send YOU the estimates = don't tell them about the insurance company - and tell them you want it to look new.

Then you'll get the best of both worlds - a body shop who thinks they have a sucker on the line and the insurance company to keep their greed in check while doing a proper job . . . its human nature and organization dynamics . . . and yes- I am a cynic.
 
dell30rb said:
Yeah that was the first thing I said to her :mad2:

Esp. since her nose was bleeding after the accident. She says she is fine but i'm guessing if there was enough force to send her into the steering wheel that she is gonna be real sore tomorrow. Apparently the guy was miffed and wanted to get on his way so she went along with just taking his insurance info. Asshat..
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aw he11, she now has injuries. Personally, I'd make SURE she gets a complete medical workup at an urgent care or ER over the weekend because you never know. . . . esp if she wakes up with 2 shiners tomorrow which she will if she had a bloody nose from hitting something.

Make sure you get LOTS of photos - of her - and of the car.

Yeah, I'm a lawyer, but I do NOT do personal injury and don't like those who do - but - as I said - you never freaking know. Photographs - even HD video - are great testimony. Throw a newspaper with a headline and date in there to prove it was no earlier than.

People go to lawyers BECAUSE the normal channels have not worked. I do not suggest you go to a lawyer = just if you do ever need one, they'll appreciate the photos, videos, and medical workup. andif you never need one, like 95% of the cases, you can delete it all and the insurance company will cover the medical expense.
 
One more thing about the insurance estimates:

Ins co's like the body shops to use aftermarket replacement parts (bumpers and the like). The body shops know this and will give you estimates based on using those parts. If you want the OEM parts, you'll need to tell the body shop to include those in the estimates. There's not always a difference between OEM and aftermarket, but sometimes, after installation, the aftermarket part might not fit 'just right' and the gap that you were used to seeing might be slightly different than you remember. Or the window motor might not sound quite the same as the others, or ... On sheetmetal replacement parts the differences might be in the quality of the rustproofing or other parts of the structure.

If her ins co is paying, you might be required to pay the difference between aftermarket and OEM. Sometimes that difference is not very much. If the other ins co is paying, you should consider your options.
 
I'll note that there's no requirement to deal with an insurance company at all. You can get it fixed to your satisfaction and send the bill to the perp. He or she can deal with their own insurance company. I suspect there's no need to in this case, but it is an option if someone gives you a hard time. This works best if the damages are small enough for small claims. The doctor's workup noted above is a good idea as well. :)
 
Did someone mention a desire to find OEM parts at a good deal?
 
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