car repair questions after accident

[Mulligan]

I would not have used your process for an (1st or 3rd party claim) accident. Unfortunately I have had alot of experience with 3rd party at fault accidents.
1) Contact own auto insurer. They will work with the other insurer to subrogate the claim. No, it won't cause you a dime because the other company will pay in full and it will also not ding your insurance premiums because it is not an at (your) fault claim.
2) I am familiar with California and not other states. In California, it is your right to select the body shop. The body shop will file the claim against the insurer so you never see or touch the money. The negotiation is between the body shop and insurer as to how much they are willing to pay.

My GF got hosed by her insurers “help”. Like OP, her car was parked on side of road in parking lot getting a massage inside. Two cars collided on the road, and one of the idiots hit the gas pedal instead of brake and did $12k damage to her car, and totaled the one next to hers. Police said both cars were at fault and one had insurance and the other didnt.
Her insurance was telling her she was one the hook for the deductible. She complained and her insurer then “went to bat for her” and got the one insurance company (the girl with insurance) to pay half the deductible. Ok, she complained and at least got $500 back. Fast forward 6 months and she noticed her premium went up a couple hundred. She called her broker and she said it went up because she was half at fault for an accident…
Say what? Her only fault was getting a message. She protested to her insurer and reporting agencies and said matter is closed and there is nothing she can do about it. Oh and her non OEM parts insurer insisted upon were not top quality either.

 

[RetiredHappy]

My GF got hosed by her insurers “help”. Like OP, her car was parked on side of road in parking lot getting a massage inside. Two cars collided on the road, and one of the idiots hit the gas pedal instead of brake and did $12k damage to her car, and totaled the one next to hers. Police said both cars were at fault and one had insurance and the other didnt.
Her insurance was telling her she was one the hook for the deductible. She complained and her insurer then “went to bat for her” and got the one insurance company (the girl with insurance) to pay half the deductible. Ok, she complained and at least got $500 back. Fast forward 6 months and she noticed her premium went up a couple hundred. She called her broker and she said it went up because she was half at fault for an accident…
Say what? Her only fault was getting a message. She protested to her insurer and reporting agencies and said matter is closed and there is nothing she can do about it. Oh and her non OEM parts insurer insisted upon were not top quality either.

In this case, I would bet that her insurance agency only got reimbursed for half the repair cost, i.e. $6K hence her insurance paid $6K. Since her insurance paid up under uninsured motorist (the one that the insurance company could not subrogate), she is on the hook for costing her insurance company money, hence her premiums went up. Once her insurance is out of money and while she is technically not at fault, under insurance terms, she is at fault since they had to cover the $6k.

Something similar happened to me. I went into the clubhouse to play cards. Came out to a smashed front end. No note, no witness. My insurance covered it and I paid a deductible but my premiums went up even though technically I was not at fault. As long as the incident costs insurance company money, the premiums will go up.

 

[RetiredHappy]

I did contact my own insurer. As I understood the explanation, the choices were :
1) use my insurer, in which case I would be subject to my deductible and to having my premium go up. It would only be AFTER my claim was settled with them that they would try to recover their money from the other insurer.
2) use the other insurer - where I have no deductible and no risk of my premium going up. This is what I've been doing.

I am selecting the body shop I want, so this is no longer an issue.

But so far, it seems as if I have to get the money from the insurance and then pay the body shop myself. Tomorrow I plan to ask if I can wait until the body shop is finished so I am sure that what they pay will be the whole body shop bill. It doesn't sound like having them pay the body shop directly is an option. Maybe things are different in California vs Georgia?

Definitely in Califonia (and I had State Farm), I was told to pay up the deductible first while they subrogate against the other company and that I was told that the deductible would be refunded once they got the money back from the other company. I did indeed get my deductible returned to me by my insurance company about 6 months later. It did not affect my premiums.

Basically my insurance company took care of paying of the body shop, and then got their money back from the other insurance company after that. In my case it was actually quite ugly. The other driver hit my car, and came out and yelled at me and threatened me. I sat inside my car with windows up and called my husband to drive 45 minutes from home to where the accident happened. When the police showed up, he took my statement with my sitting inside the car and being afraid of the other driver. My car was hit badly but his car was worse. I looked up the police report and found out that the other driver was driving a car that did not even belong to him and was registered to a woman (out of state license plate). I was so glad that State Farm handed the whole thing for me.

 

[Semi-Retyrd]

My experiences in Las Vegas NV.

1) Rear ended by a driver who fell asleep. Her insurance company gave me a list of approved body shops and I chose one that had the best reviews. I visited the shop and they said would start the repairs in a few days. They would also arrange a rental car for me to pick up when I dropped my car off for repair at their shop. I asked about parts and they said they would use OEM parts not third party. They said labor was big part of charge including painting match so parts did not affect the price that much. The shop interfaced with the insurance company, so there was no charge to me for the shop or the rental. When the work was done (it took 4 days) I picked up my car and left the rental at the shop and they had the rental company pick it up from there. All in all I was very pleased with the work and my car (Toyota Camry) came out looking great.

2) A few years later I had a collision with a motorcycle rider who sped in front of my car from behind causing me to hit him. I called the 911 and the policeman who reviewed the accident ultimately decided the rider was at fault and gave him a ticket for illegal lane change. I contacted my insurance company and they contacted the rider's insurance company after both companies received the police report. The rider disputed my claim and his insurance company would not pay as a result. Both insurance companies agreed to use a mediator rather than fight in court. The mediator ruled it was the riders fault and then his insurance company agreed to use the body shop I had previously used. I had originally got a quote on my own which was much higher than what was ultimately charged. The body shop explained that they have special negotiated rates when working with insurance companies to get on their approved list.

Bottom line - My car was fixed nicely both times and I did not have to pay anything.

 

[Mulligan]

In this case, I would bet that her insurance agency only got reimbursed for half the repair cost, i.e. $6K hence her insurance paid $6K. Since her insurance paid up under uninsured motorist (the one that the insurance company could not subrogate), she is on the hook for costing her insurance company money, hence her premiums went up. Once her insurance is out of money and while she is technically not at fault, under insurance terms, she is at fault since they had to cover the $6k.

Something similar happened to me. I went into the clubhouse to play cards. Came out to a smashed front end. No note, no witness. My insurance covered it and I paid a deductible but my premiums went up even though technically I was not at fault. As long as the incident costs insurance company money, the premiums will go up.

I appreciate what you say. But to me, the cost came from the scumbag who didnt have insurance and deliberately gave officer an insurance card that was not active to avoid another ticket. In disciplining such perpetrators, I admit I am a traditionalist who needs to become more progressive with the times. So drawn and quartering the culprit maybe should be replaced with 2 weeks in a Pillory.

 

[Koolau]

I appreciate what you say. But to me, the cost came from the scumbag who didnt have insurance and deliberately gave officer an insurance card that was not active to avoid another ticket. In disciplining such perpetrators, I admit I am a traditionalist who needs to become more progressive with the times. So drawn and quartering the culprit maybe should be replaced with 2 weeks in a Pillory.

Nah! Debtors prison until they pay for the repairs!

 

[VanWinkle]

As a former Insurance adjuster and body shop owner, there is a third option. Talk to the shop of your choice about using OEM parts at a price comparable to aftermarket parts. Many wholesale OEM parts distributors will discount their OEM parts to compete with aftermarket suppliers. Also know that if the quality or fit of the aftermarket parts is not as good as OEM, the insurance company will pay for OEM. Some aftermarket parts are comparable, and some are not. Any safety related part will not be used aftermarket(seat belt, airbags, structural components). Although they are used everyday by the general public (tie rods, drive axles, struts, batteries), the aftermarket parts suppliers are given a bad name in OEM advertisements. The company I worked for had a policy of no aftermarket parts in the first 3 model years of a vehicle life. What year is the vehicle?

Live long and prosper!!