Auto Insurance Claims/Auto claims

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Expert: webfoot - 9/14/2006


Question
What is the protocol for contacting the responsible party regarding results of estimates and payments?  Should the insurance agent  volunteer reasons that he/she may be contacting a client when it is not the client that he/she is speaking to?

Answer
Every company has their own protocol so all I can do is tell you how I handle claims. I'm assuming that you're concerned about a possible privacy violation?

If I'm calling someone regarding a medical claim, HIPAA regulations are very strict regarding privacy so I will not leave any information beyond my name, number and claim number unless it is a voice mail personally identifying the party that I'm leaving the message for.  

Sometimes on an auto damage (damage to the car itself) claim, I will leave info as to what I'm calling about as this does not violate any privacy laws.  The reason that I do this is many folks think I'm selling insurance.  If they know that my call regards a claim, they are much more likely to forward the message.  

Though I don't leave more info than that, I don't believe that there are any legal issues on auto damage claims that are covered under HIPAA other than than personally identifying info like SS#'s DOB, etc.  It's the medical/injury claims that we have to be very careful about.

I hope this answers your question, but if you need further info, please feel free to ask and I'd also appreciate your feedback.

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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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