Long story short, someone backed into my bumper in a parking lot and scrapped it up. All State (their insurer) has accepted liability. I submitted the estimate from my preferred shop. They had me submit photos for their estimate.
The shops estimate is like $2200, theirs is like $600. Totally expected that, it's not my question. My question is their claim process is trying to pay me their estimate amount. When I take this to the shop and it's (likely) even higher is my car going to be stuck in limbo while they bicker about the difference? Can I tell them to pay the shop somehow directly and leave me out of it? Doesn't seem to be an option on the online claim process.
Posted by kram_02
3 Comments
This is normal. The adjuster writes for damage he can see and verify. Once the shop sees it in person and starts work, they will find damages the adjuster couldn’t see. They will send in a supplement for the additional money needed. As long as the shop’s charges are reasonable for your area, insurance will pay it. But if, for example, they charge $100 per hour for labor when most everyone else charges only 75, insurance won’t pay that inflated amount. You’ll have to pay the difference.
they will negotiate between themselves, but if your chosen shop is charging higher labor rates than the average for your area, or if they are trying to use more expensive parts than allstate will approve, you’re going to be stuck paying the difference out of pocket
the only sure way to leave you out of it is to use one of allstate’s network shops, who will guaranteed complete the repairs at the cost allstate approves
You can sign a direction to pay for the shop or give a verbal direction to pay to the insurance company if your state allows it. They’ll pay the shop directly, but it won’t stop the shop from complaining to you or asking you for money for what insurance doesn’t cover.