April 7, 2011

Car Accident Insurance Settlement : How You Can Avoid Paying for Auto Repair

Many times during the car accident insurance settlement, you and the insurance company don’t see eye to eye on the amount your auto repair costs are actually worth.

Should you get your own repair quotes, the insurance company will try to push you to accept their own smaller settlements. The bad news is that the insurance company’s prices could be hundreds and even thousands of dollars lower than your actual repair quotes.

If you don’t understand how to work out these disagreements with the insurance company, you will find yourself paying a lot for your car repairs.

To avoid paying for your car damages , here are a couple of basic steps you can follow:

1. Get Full Written Estimates

First, you need to get a complete itemized quote for your car damages. Capturing the list of replacement parts and their costs clearly shows how much money it will cost to repair your car.

With a detailed estimate, you can then ask the insurance company to provide their own detailed estimates. In this way you are judging accurate estimates, rather than simply some arbitrary amount from the insurance company. If you are upset with a lower estimate, you have a right to understand how exactly they calculated the low settlement figure.

You should make sure your estimates are for the equivalent factory vehicle parts. You have a right to get your car in the SAME condition as it was prior to the accident. The insurance adjuster’s estimates may be lower merely because used less costly non factory replacement parts. You don’t have to accept this, so get the estimates for the same quality parts.

2. Get Quality and Realistic Estimates

You should get your estimates from a shop that will actual work on your car repair. Don’t just go to a random repair shop or gas station and get a rough estimate.

Insurance companies actually classify your damages as falling in a selected range. For example, they may expect repairing a broken bumper shouldn’t cost more than a few hundred dollars.

However, this really relies on who does your repairs and the model of your vehicle. So check to make sure you get your estimates from a repair shop that is qualified to repaire your brand of vehicle. This will give you a more reliable cost of labor.

If the insurance company disputes this estimate, make them give you another mechanic shop that can ensure the same exceptional work. If they don’t offer a satisfactory alternative, you can argue that their estimate is inaccurate and you shouldn’t have to settle for poor quality work.

What if My Car is Totaled?

If the cost of your car repair is more than the cost of your vehicle, this is called a “total loss”. The insurance company will try to give you what it considers the Actual Cash Value (ACV) of your motor vehicle. This might also increase disputes because you may think your car is definitely worth more than you are getting.

The easiest way to see if you’re getting a reasonable deal is to check your vehicle’s Kelly Blue Book value. The blue book lists the current value of the car and you can check how much your car is worth.

How Can I Learn to Better Negotiate my Car Accident Settlement?

Working on these suggestions really depends upon how confident you are negotiating cash settlement costs.

Find out more helpful tips to negotiate your car accident insurance claims and personal injury settlements