Expert: webfoot - 4/20/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi, My husband and I dropped his 2001 Ford F150 Truck off at an auto shop on Thursday. A shop we have used for over twenty years. The truck was not running properly and my husband feared it might be a transmission problem. My husband checked the transmission fluid before taking into the shop and it was full. The next morning he received a call from the shop and was told that while the mechanic was testing it/while it was hooked up to the analyzer machine, he noticed flames coming up from the hood. They are not sure what happended but they said they think some type of fluid got on the manifold, which was hot, and a fire started. They evalauated the damage and estimate it to be around $1000. This does not include how much it will cost to fix the mechanical problem - whatever that is. The shop is refusing to pay for/ fix for free damage caused by the fire. They claim it is not their fault. We have called our auto insurance agent and we do have comprehensive coverage. However, we will be out a $500 deducible, will have a claim filed on our insurance, have a record of fire damage on the car's history, and not know what future problems the truck could have related to the fire.... it has 96,000 miles and a bluebook value of $5200. I do not yet know if they have Garage liability insurance etc.. Should we go ahead and file the claim on our insurance? What is the chance they will total it? Should we take the shop to court to at least recover our $500 deductible?
Thanks for any advice you may have for us.

ANSWER: I would file with insurance and then the insurance company can choose whether to pursue the repair shop or not.  If they will not do this, then you would need to go to small claims court for your deductible.  The would be in your court to prove negligence on the part of the shop.  Having the insurance company handle the rest of the damages will result in proper documentation of what caused the fire (hopefully) and will also take you out of the loop when the estimated $1,000 repair turns into a $3,000 repair.

Good luck.

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

QUESTION: Thanks so much for the advice. Do you think this claim may cause our insurance rates to go up or cause them to drop us? We've made no other claims with them in the past 4 years as their insureds. Have you ever heard of this type of situation happening before?

Answer
That is a rate/underwriting question which as stated in my profile and question instructions, I have no way of answering.

Every state, insurance company and policy can be different regarding underwriting rules.

In my state and my insurance company comprehensive claims do not result in rate increases or cancellations.  

This is a question for your agent.