Expert: Charlie Barone - 11/17/2009

Question
Hi Charlie
my question is are these two situations the same when you are involved in a auto accident. I got a diminished value check from my insurance company however my accident happened on 9/21/09 and I never got a rental so do they owe me any money for loss of use. My car is at the auto body shop so as of today I am still without my car. My car sat for almost 3 weeks at a salvage yard because my insurance company changed it's mind about it being totaled we played a waiting game to see who would move first I did by having it towed to a body shop where they are in the process of doing a teardown to determine if the car really can be fixed. My insurance company wants to use after market parts is that OK? my car is a year old with 34,500 miles on it. Do they owe me additional monies for loss of use.

Answer
Mike,

Depending on the language in your policy, you may be owed for rental car costs or loss of use. Your policy may also say that they have the right to use aftermarket parts in the repair, however, they must be the exact equivalent of the original parts they replace. There are a number of parameters by which you can determine the equivalency of the parts, such as coatings, exact weight, fit, number of spot welds, etc. The shop you choose for the repairs can be your advocate in this determination.

Call your agent to determine whether or not you have the rental car coverage or to get a copy of your policy to check for yourself.

Charlie