I was rear ended and submitted a claim with the at fault party’s insurance. I drove my car for a week, it only had minor damage to the rear bumper, but l decided to take up the insurance company’s offer to pay for the repairs. I dropped it off at the insurance company’s shop and expected to pick it up in a day or two. The insurance adjuster tmessaged me that repair shop advised them that the vehicle will likely be declared a total loss and he is going to have a market evaluation report done to determine this. He did not tell me the estimated cost of repairs. I really don’t want to buy a new car when my car drives just fine and it’s just minor cosmetic damage! I think l should ask to take it to another shop for anoher quote. Can l do this? What should l do? Please advise, l really can’t lose my car.
Insurance Company Says my Car is Likely TL despite Minor Damage
byu/LauraPalmer93 inInsurance
Posted by LauraPalmer93
2 Comments
what state, and do you own the vehicle outright?
Not sure how it works in California but in my state the shop does not make the determination on whether a vehicle is a loss, that’s what the insurance company does. Sounds like your adjuster is trying to pass the buck.
With that said, just because something looks like minor cosmetic damage doesn’t always mean that. It’s very likely that the shop found more damage underneath the bumper and then submitted an estimate to repair to the insurance that outweighed the value of the car. I would ask the shop for specifics, maybe they can send you photos or if you stop in they’d be willing to show you the car and run through the damages with you.
Small side note, were you dropping the car for it to be repaired or just an estimate? Just the processing time is 1-2 days, never mind the repairs. Ordering parts, doing repairs, painting and reassembly, I generally tell people no less than a week when they drop cars off at the shop I work at. Insurance companies, adjusters, and appraisers handle many claims at once and sometimes don’t get to review our initial estimates or supplements for a day or two, and I am at a standstill with the car while I wait for approval from the insurance company to move forward.