Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 8/2/2010

Question
I live in CA. My daughter's 1998 Civic was rear-ended. The adjuster for the insurance co. (Unigard) said there was prior damage that he will not fix as part of the estimate. Our mechanic said that it could be part of the accident. We have not had a previous accident and I think that they should fix all the damage. Regardless, I will tell the mechanic to fix it all. My question is how to proceed if I have to sue. Should I accept a check for the damage they will fix and sue them for the balance?

Answer
Hi Mike,

You should put your vehicle in the body shop for the repairs. Once there, the body shop should write a supplement for the additional damage and send it to the insurance company. The insurance company will then send an appraiser to the body shop and your body shop manager should be able to convince them that it is related to this accident. You can also purchase an AutoCheck report at www.autocheck.com to see if the car has any prior accident history and if not show it to the adjuster to prove there is no prior damage. You can also tell the adjuster to run a C.L.U.E. report which will show any prior insurance claims on the car. If he can not prove there was a prior accident, he can not use it against you.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh