Expert: Bennie719 - 3/6/2008

Question
QUESTION: Somebody backed into my car while it was parked.  Instead of submitting claim to the other party, I thought it would be easier to file it with my own Ins Co.  However, for some reason, my insurance company only approved 3 days for car rental even though I paid for the car rental option $30/day - $900 max)  The reason I need extra days of rental is because I have every other Friday off and I don't want to take time off from work to drop off my car on Monday or Tuesday.   Now, my co-worker told me that I should submit claim with the other party and they will have to pay for rental with no $30 nor 3 days limit.  Is this true?  I'm not looking for abusing the system, I just want to have some reasonable flexibility to repair my car.

ANSWER: Hi Chad,
We all suffer some type of inconvenience when involved in a car accident.  No company is going to offer an extra 7 -10 days of car rental just so you can drop your car off on a Friday.
Once the insurance company approves repairs, they prefer to have the car in the shop the following day.
You need to get your car into the shop ASAP and then if the car is not ready in three days, your adjuster will always extend the rental period until repairs are complete.
I hope this information is of help.
Your feedback by rating my answer will be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Beannie,
Thanks for such a quick response.  However, maybe I wasn't being clear.  My question was whether do I have more leverage to file claim against the other party Ins Co. or is it the same and can I still do it since I've already filed it with my own Ins.  I don't want extra 7-10 days of rental, I just need the extra 2 days so that I can take my car in on Friday.   As a matter of fact, my adjuster didn't really care when I want to fix my car.  They've already send me the check (minus the deductible) but told me to make sure the shop order necessary parts prior brining the car in and I can only drop it off on Monday or Tuesday.

Answer
Hi Chad,
The problem with dropping your car off on a friday means it will simply set in the shop for 2 days before repairs are started and the insurance company doesn't want to pay the extra two days of rental coverage while no repairs are being done.
You will probably have better results getting your own adjuster to approve a few days of extra rental as opposed to dealing with the adverse company.
Bennie