Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 11/23/2009

Question
My vehicle was parked on the street and was sideswiped over night taking off my driver side mirror and denting my front driver side panel.  In the morning, when I found my car damaged, I called the police and had a police report taken.  The dent was very peculiar and the cop confessed to me he could  not figure out how exactly the other car hit me.  He even went so far as to say the dent seemed to be too high for a car to have made it and perhaps was a pole, but he did not really pursue that line of thought and I am pretty sure the police report was standard.  My question is, do insurance companies regularly make a big deal out of small claims such as replacing a sideview mirror and minimal body work if the cause of the accident seems questionable.  Is it likely they will give me trouble and send someone to see my car at the autobody shop, thereby prolonging this whole horrible process? Or is it more likely that they will read the police report and just send the payment through?  

Answer
Hi Corey,

Regardless of the cause of the damage your collision coverage will pay the cost of the repairs less your deductible. In most cases the insurance company will send out a damage estimator or they will either request that you bring the vehicle to a facility where they can inspect and write a repair estimate or they may simply send you to a body shop that they work with.

You may want to go to a body shop on your own to get an estimate before you file the claim so you will know if it is even worth filing a claim. Since there were no witnesses to the incident and no other specific proof that another car was involved, this will likley be filed as a collision claim and may cause your rates to go up. If you find that the cost of repairs is less than $1,000.00 and you have a $500.00 deductible, you would have to decide if it is worth filing a claim to get a check for $500.00 only to have your rates increased for the next 3 years.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh