Let me start at the beginning, this could be a little lengthy. About 2 years ago my dad accidentally backed into my wifes car. It damaged the fender and bumper a little bit. He had someone he knew repair the damage that was in the industry of repairing damaged vehicles. The car looked fine, there was one small bubble in the paint on the fender, but outside of that the car looked pretty good. We were in a car wreck last week. It was not our fault, a lady did not see us as she was sitting at a stop sign, proceeded to come out into the intersection and we hit them broadside. With that said, we took it to the insurance companies recommended auto body place to get it estimated and fixed. About 3 hours ago they called me and told me that due to previous damage being done and due to the repairs of the vehicle not being done properly that the insurance company would not cover that expense. They said that the fender probably needed to be totally replaced and that we would have to pay for that out of pocket. Is it just me or should the insurance company not eat that cost whether the car was previously damaged or not? There was additional damage caused by the second accident to the fender. They gave us the option to try to work with it but there would be no guarantee that it would look right or align properly. Admittedly the repairs probably were not done properly by the sound of it. But still, the car was fine before the accident, everything aligned properly. Why should I be forced to pay extra because they can not get it to align properly anymore after this second accident? That doesn't make sense. Who should pay for the repairs?
Personally I think it's your own fault for not getting the car properly fixed after your dad backed into it. Fair enough it's your dad, but it still should have been fixed properly.
Yeah, that's a tough call, because you don't want to be rude to your own dad about it, I would have done the same thing he did in that situation, no doubt about it. Now, after the fact, I would mention something to my dad that now, since the repairs weren't done properly when he backed into the car, I have to pay X amount of money after the fact. I'm sure a reasonable deal could be worked out.
Take it to another body shop....never go to the insurance companys........There are tons of great ones out there just look around.....
I don't see how this is really my dad's fault in any way, we all thought it was done properly. My point of view is that even though there was previous damage to the car, the fender aligned properly, it looked okay. Now if it can't be put back into that same condition, even if it isn't the "correct" way, then it should be replaced. Just because the fender buckled and was fubared because of this wreck added to the previous damage it had doesn't mean that I should have to pay for it in my opinion.
Do like the insurance people do....Get another opinion from a different body shop, but not in the insurances network...... Hopefully they will say it wasnt bad body work previously.... Or tell the insurance company to restore it to how the last people did it if you were fine with it.... you gotta fight them...threaten to switch insurance after its done...
I agree with superrichguy, you have to be agressive with insurance companies. They are evil and only give in to subtle threats and force. Get a second opinion from outside the insurance company and then use that to your advantage. If the insurance company doesn't want to give in threaten to switch....Believe me they want your business more than they want to admit. Hope I helped.
get a lawyer........insurance companies in the usa are there to PROFIT and its a well known fact one of the ways they do it is by denying valid claims.
I'm sure the insurance company reps you have spoken to get paid good money to be as tight as possible. Did you report the previous damage to the company? You are advised to do so in order to avoid such situations. But yet again, that's here in UK. Who know what insurance companies are like in US.
Well I'd say that the insurance is right, you should have gotten it checked up with your mechanic after your dad got it fixed. My dad always gets his cars checked 2 weeks.
Demand that it gets restored to its original condition that you had it in. Ask them to use a secondhand bumper if they must, but you shouldn't have to pay anything. The accident is not your fault so all you want is the car to be how it was before the accident. My brother in law works in insurance and he gets bonuses based on how much claims he can reduce over the year. They will try to screw you for anything that they can get away with.
The insurance company should responsible. If we're going to obey that pathetic rule, then does it mean that a person got ran over by a car before doesn't need to get paid by insurance company if he get ran over by a car again and the condition is more serious?
this is your insurance company? WTF its the womans insurance company that should be paying right? so what has this to do with your insurance company? apart from the fact they are not claiming from her insurance company on your behalf. get it fixed and drop your insurance company as soon as. they are a shit company
Try to reach the faulty point..have re-checked your car from some other shop. if insurance company is right, than it's your fault. and if insurance company is just trying to avoid the situation, you have the right to argue with them, but not without proof. So i would recommend you, to focus on problem's cause ... and if you can afford, you shouldn't ask your father to pay i would never say to someone elder, even it would, that it's your fault.. he must be very genious person, to pay for the damages..
To clarify a few things, my insurance and the other drivers insurance is the same company. They did have it mixed up but did fix it, so I don't owe anything such as a deductable. Things unfortunately did not get any better this morning, and admittedly, this is my fault. I feel as though I got scammed. When we took the car in for them to look at it they said that they would like to have an insurance adjuster there to inspect the damage at the same time to come up with an accurate estimate. I needed to sign a paper saying that if needed, they could take fenders off to view underlying damage. This is all I was told, I said fine, signed the paper. This morning, my attorney (my dad as well), told the insurance company that we would like to have the car fixed to its original condition before this accident (the fender align properly, paint matches, etc). The insurance company stated they would not do so. We told them that we would probably be seeing them in court and that we would like to pick up the vehicle. They said that I had signed some agreement that if I opted to no longer use them that I had to pay for them to reassemble the car. Essentially, they are not wanting to give my car back until I pay something for them to put the fenders and bumper back on. I never knew I signed such a thing. Apparently we're going to court, I think they are just wanting to rip us off.
That was two years ago (2005) since his dad was accidentally bump the car and now 2007 a lady wrecked your car and not your fault. You can demand to your insurance company because it's not your fault. That's why you get insurance for you not to get a headache when bad things happen. Don't get intimidated with these guys.. They are wise but you can squeeze them. May the force be with you. he he
Fight the insurance company. Most of the aggressive ones will do anything they can to avoid paying a claim. That's why I have State Farm and in the two accidents in the past 10 years there has never been a question...just repaired like new.
Well, the insurance company has backed down now and they have opted to go ahead and fix it. So it appears all is good now, unfortunately it required an attorney and I will probably be looking for a new insurance company since I know that they are looking for any loophole possible to stick it to me. Pretty sad considering I have been with them for 6 years and i'm sure i've paid much more in premiums in the last 6 years than what it would have cost to fix this relatively small amount of damage.
well if it's 1 of the requirement stated in the contract ( whe dutch call that voorwaarden) than I am afraid you must abide by them and sice you didn't that's bad luck. Hope it will turn out ok and that you can buy a new car.