Auto Insurance Claims/Animal vs. Wood

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Expert: webfoot - 3/29/2007


Question
I was driving on an unlit road when I hit something that seemed to be very solid. It tore off half of my bumper and I drove right home with the bumper rubbing against the tire. I immediately called my ins co and reported the incident. I told them I was not sure what I hit and it was dark so I couldn't check my van at the time. The next day I looked at the damage and noticed that there were teeth marks, blood and hair on the bumper and I took pictures of it. I didn't think any thing of it and I took it to the body shop and they fixed it. A few months later I called the ins co to ask about the rate increase and they said it was due to my accident. I told them I didn't have an accident, I hit an animal in the road. She referred me back to my claim agent and he asked me to bring by the pictures. I made a CD for him and asked him to blow up the image to see the blood and teeth marks. A few days later he called me back and said that he showed the pictures to his manager and the manager said it could be anything and dismissed the dispute so now I have to live with the increased rates and an "accident" on my spotless record. How can one man make this type of determination?

Answer
Seems like the proper thing to do would have been to notify the insurance company of this new information at the time of the repair before the parts were discarded. They would have sent an adjuster out to look at it.
Without seeing the pictures, I can't say if their decision is correct or not.

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webfoot

Expertise

Auto damage, liability, insurance fraud. I am a full time auto insurance adjuster with experience in collision, theft, liability and fraud investigation. I am also an ASE Master Auto Tech and I-Car Collision Platinum certified. My experience includes 15 years in the auto repair industry, a B.S. in Criminal Justice, Law enforcement and auto insurance. ****** NO "PRIVATE" QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED. I HAVE FOUND THAT NEARLY ALL PRIVATE QUESTIONS COME FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE CONSIDERING OR ATTEMPTING TO COMMIT FELONY INSURANCE FRAUD AND I'M NOT HERE TO HELP YOU! ****** I AM HERE TO ANSWER AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR, CLAIMS PROCESS AND SOME SIMPLE LIABILITY QUESTIONS. I CANNOT ADDRESS COMPLEX LIABILITY SCENARIOS WITHOUT HAVING ALL OF THE INFO FROM BOTH SIDES IN FRONT OF ME. QUESTIONS ABOUT PREMIUMS OR HOW INSURANCE IS RATED SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO YOUR PERSONAL INSURANCE AGENT WHO KNOWS A WHOLE LOT MORE ABOUT YOUR HISTORY THAN I DO. I'VE NEVER SOLD INSURANCE AND DO NOT KNOW IF YOUR INDIVIDUAL INSURANCE RATES WILL GO UP IF YOU MAKE A CLAIM. THOUGH I'VE HANDLED SOME VERY MINOR SOFT TISSUE INJURY SETTLEMENTS, I PREFER NOT TO ANSWER INJURY RELATED QUESTIONS. I'M NO INJURY EXPERT AND I'LL LIKELY SAY SOMETHING TO HURT SOMEONE'S FEELINGS AS I BELIEVE THAT MANY SOFT TISSUE PAIN AND SUFFERING CLAIMS ARE OVER DRAMATIZED. UNLIKE MANY OTHERS, I AM ON THIS FORUM AS A VOLUNTEER WITH NO PRODUCTS OR SERVICES TO SELL AND PROMISE AN UPFRONT ANSWER BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE IN BOTH SIDES OF THE INDUSTRY. IF YOU PROVIDE ME WITH A HONEST VERSION OF EVENTS, I PROMISE A CANDID AND HONEST ANSWER IN RETURN. I CANNOT ADDRESS ALL CLAIM SCENERIOS DUE TO DIFFERING STATE LAWS AND REGULATIONS, BUT WILL DO MY BEST. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT AN HONEST ANSWER MAY BE ONE THAT YOU DON'T LIKE SO IF THAT IS GOING TO BE A PROBLEM, PLEASE DON'T ASK THE QUESTION. LASTLY, I DO NOT ACCEPT RATINGS AS I DON'T DO THIS FOR RATINGS AND WISH TO SPEAK FREELY.

Experience

20 years in automotive industry, Currently in insurance claims, worked actively as technician and shop owner until about 10 years ago. Current ASE Master Auto Tech and I-Car Platinum Collision Certifications, B.S. Criminal Justice and 10 year auto insurance/extended warranty background

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