Insurance claim question

If you have a vehicle that is damaged in front of your house, the at fault drivers insurance covers it, but it has to go to a certified shop. If you do the repairs yourself and don't notify your insurance company, won't your insurance find out anyway when his company works the claim? He hit 2 cars, but the father in law and I can do the mechanical repairs....radiator, Headlight, brackets, etc.

 

Yes, your insurance company would hear about it, but the at fault's company can still just cut you a check and you can do the repairs.

 

I hit a deer in my truck

i went to 3 body shops for an estimate and submitted the highest one to my insurance company,requesting they send me a check directly to my mailbox.

3 weeks later,minus my deductible,I had a check. I deposited it and ordered a HD front bumper,and with the rest of the proceeds will have the body shop touch up the truck and repaint the fading roof and paint match my camper shell. Much better off that way,than getting “drop it off at the insurance body shopping and getting just a bumper”

Non issue for me besides the “history” showing an insurance claim on the vehicle

 

To clarify my previous post; I'd still get it assessed to be sure there isn't some hidden frame damage or something, but you can absolutely opt to repair it yourself.

 

Assuming you’re not the person who did the hitting “asking for a friend”, why not go through the other person’s insurance? It’s admirable to try and help someone potentially protect their insurance rates, but it almost always ends badly.

 

So the gold Rodeo is my kids car, and the black one is her bf's car. He was parked about 10 feet it front of her. The silver Toyota came flying through and hit the Volvo and pushed it all the way back to the Rodeo. They estimated that he was doing at least 45 mph. He never hit the brakes, and told the cop that he wasn't going over 25. They didn't drug test him but his father came and picked him up and his father said the kid has a history of substance abuse.

 

Ouch!

 

Yep. I'll have to call my insurance company tomorrow and see how the process works. The father in law and I can fix it.....it's just sourcing the bumper, grill and headlight. The radiator should be easy. It didn't damage the fan at all....it just broke loose from the mounts. Once we figure out the insurance thing, then we can pull the front end off for a better look. My thinking is tow it to a shop and see if they will give an estimate while I'm there and then tow it to the father in laws maintenance shop where we can pull it apart.....if that's how the process works.

 

I see another Volvo that has fulfilled it's destiny...

 

At least nobody was hurt, I hope. The one thing I would be concerned about is how “good” the kids insurance is. Multiple vehicle incidents like this can get expensive. It is probably a nonissue because the cars don’t look that bad and there is no medical but it is something to keep in the back of your mind. I would want to know that the policy limit will be enough to make everyone whole again. I know of people who have had to use their own uninsured coverage to make up the difference.

 

If you've got a trailer you can tow it on, I'd let the bodysuit pull apart some of it to see if there's deeper damage than needs to be covered. Hate for you to get a check, tear it down, and then find that there's twice the damage estimated. I'm not a mechanic at all though, so I need that to cover my ass. If you guys are more familiar with the body work you can probably go without the professional tear down.

 

Noone was hurt. Both cars were parked on the street. Yeah I'm not sure what his policy is.

 

Yeah I have to rent a trailer in the morning to tow it. I am going to call the body shop as well and see what he says....I know the owner of one of the shops.

 

I don't really understand the original question. If your kids were not at fault, why not just report it all to insurance and make them fix it properly? What do you gain by trying to fix it yourself? Seems like there will be a lot more hidden damage than what is seen there.

 

If the insurance cuts a check for parts and labor at a shop, but you only have to buy the parts, then you get to keep the labor portion of the check.

 

From my experience, insurance always low balls an estimate. It will take a lot of time going back and forth to get the proper estimate. Unless you really want the money and do the repairs yourself, I would take it to a shop who deals with these things and they will be able to find all the damage the accident caused and negotiate with the insurance company on the correct amount.

I had a rear end accident once and insurance cut me a check for $1,000. I took the car to a body shop of my choice and they ended up cutting an additional $3,000 because the total repair is $4,000. They never took any panels off during the initial estimate and used aftermarket parts pricing.

Insurance is a business, get as much money they can from policy premiums and pay out as little as they can from claims.

 

Fully aware. OP has stated he knows the local body shop that he will have doing the estimate. Of course you'd have to do the usual negotiate/hoop jumping to get insurance to the correct price, but if you do the work yourself you pocket whatever would have been paid in labor. Personally, I have no skill in this area, so it'd be a body shop doing it, but I can totally see the OP wanting to do it themselves if skilled in that area.

 

My kid was hit & run on the freeway, a witness gave her the license plate number of the driver that hit her. The damage was minimal and I bought the bumper cover on eBay and only reported to my insurance to try to hold the offender accountable.

All I achieved was getting the accident on my policy and her record.

 

Why not have the insurance adjuster come out and look at the Rodeo in front of you house? its gonna be a total loss from what I can see but you would be able to keep it once they present you with the value.

 

From the looks of things, I would say that most likely all 3 vehicles will be deemed total losses.

Contact insurance company, see what they say, see if you can owner retain once it totals

 

Yes all total loss for sure. The Rodeo needs bumper, hood, grille, at least one headlight, side marker light, fender, radiator support and most likely stuff that can't be seen. Buy it back after they total it if you still want it.

 

Our Acura was totaled several years ago due to hail. We bought ours back and kept it another three years.

That might be a good way to go if it is an option.

 

Same here. Knoxville? Our 02 Corolla was destroyed by the great Knoxville hail storm of 2011. We bought it back, named her Hailey, and drove her another 7 years.

 

I had a person rear end me at a stop light. They admitted fault and were ticketed. I called my insurance company. They had zero interest and did not ask any details. They only told me that if the at fault drivers insurance did not come through with payment to fix my car, to give them a call. Never called them back and all ended well.

OTOH, when my wife and i were engaged, my wife was legally parked on the street. A drunk driver rear ended her brand new Pontiac and totaled it. Both my wife and the drunk had State Farm. That was a problem. Knowing they were on the hook for everything regardless who was at fault, they were pinching every penny. It actually became really funny and I can say that since the rental car for my wife was charged to the drunks policy. They were not going to repair her car and were trying to limit the financial hit...she even refused the exact same car, brand new, because it was not the same color as the one that was totaled. She was in no hurry as they gave her a brand new Bonneville to drive. She ended paying $500 out of pocket to get a brand new one-year newer of the same model..which had been restyled and looked a lot better IMO. Since it was financed, they jacked her rate on the new loan so we had to refinance immediately, but that was easy enough.

 

Why does it “have” to go to a certified shop ?

Choice of shop.

Most insurance will write estimate or pay off what you can provide and cash you out for damages.

Don’t forget to ask for loss of use (even if not renting - most will pay a 3rd party for loss of use).

Economic total = very state specific.

 

Murfreesboro. It did not break any glass but dented everything on the top and some on the sides. It was a great car and I could not see not keeping it. Wife didn't care.

When Nightshade mentioned it I thought that was a great idea. Several people I know have done the same thing with totaled cars that they owned. Honestly, if you have owned the car a while and know the mechanical condition of everything else you are probably better off keeping what you have than buying something else with unknown mechanical upkeep etc. Assuming we are talking used stuff.

 

Recommend shop have a guarantee on parts and service and the insurance trust their work. If not body shop could claim for a new panel, but use bondo to fix it.