Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 5/29/2009

Question
My car was hit by another car last week and my rear
passenger door got damaged. The other driver was at fault
and admitted it. Since i do not have comprehensive coverage
in my own insurance policy, I filed a claim with the at-
fault driver's insurance company. Since my vehicle was
still drivable the adjuster asked me to take it to their
appraiser in a collision center and i did so. The appraiser
gave me a total appraisal of about 580 and deducted some
amount under the heading of betterment and tax which made
the real amount to be 390. She also figured out some repair
costs to my vehicle of around 1500 unrelated to the
accident which i have no idea of. She did not talk to me
about the appraisal and told me that someone would call me
within a day or two. I still don't know what would be the
exact cost to fix the damage. I was expecting to receive a
call but i received this draft from the insurance company
of amount 390 after the deduction and the draft says for
the final settlement. And then I called the adjusted and
asked why is that deduction made on the total amount, and
they told me that was for the other damages the vehicle had
before the accident. Now why would they deduct amount out
of the total appraisal for the damages from the accident
and pay me less. Moreover they already have figured out the
total repair cost unrelated to the accident to be 1500
(which is not true). Now looks like they dont want to pay
me the full amount and get done with this low offer. And i
am not even sure of how much will it take actually to fix
the vehicle. That 580 was just for the external damages
they could see, I am not sure of the external damages and
the rental expenses i may have to pay for. Over that, they
don't even want to pay the full amount. What is my option
in this case?

I look forward for your reply.

Answer
Hi Andy,

Insurance companies will always write a low estimate. They assume you will never get the vehicle repaired and therefore will never learn the true cost of repairs.

The prior unrelated damage amount on the estimate does not mean anything and was not deducted from your repair amount. What was deducted is the betterment. Betterment is an amount deducted from an estimate when a part that needs to be replaced is the type of part that normally wears out over time, like tire, brakes, shocks, mufflers, etc. When an insurance comapny replaces these type of parts with a new part, they charge you back for the percentage of the parts life that you have already used.

You need to take your car to a body shop that you would want to do the work and have them write an estimate of the repairs. Then you have the body shop to contact the insurance adjuster for a supplemental estimate. The insurance comapny will then send an adjuster to the body shop to negotiate the additional costs. Then the insurance company will pay the shop directly for any additional costs.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh