[Guest]

I hope you all never have to deal with these people...I was recently involved in a very very minor fender bender and the guy who hit me had progressive insurance!! So anyway, the accident happened last Monday!! The adjuster barely came to look at my dented fender on Monday!! She comes and I start explaining to her exactly what happened and what damage was caused!! She starts taking pictures of my car and try to BS conversation!! The day of the accident my window switch on the drivers window stopped working!! I have no window!! No drive thrus...nothing!! So, I tell her about this switch...and she blatantly calls me a liar!! She said that there was no structural damage therefore there could be no problem with the switch!! She then tried to give me a history lesson on how my doors have structural support beams inside of them...like I didn't already know!! So she says that she will talk to her supervisor about it and send me a check by the end of the week!! Well, I got the check today...$316.74!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was soooooo pissed!! I called the insurance company and asked them what this would fix? A few screws?? I took it to a body shop and they quoted me $1,028.96!! This is just for a new fender and some paint!! The price I figured afterward for parts alone was:
A new fender-$429.63
A New GS rim-$415.82
Fender liner-$56.25
Fender bracket-$10.77
New window switch-$494.39
A rear body molding-$48.76
Bringing the total to $1455.62 just for parts!! Now, I'm gonna make sure they replace all of these things and if the insurance company wants to be an ass...I'll simply take them to a small claims court and get this problem resolved!! She told me that my fender could be "brought back to new" with some Bondo!!! My ass!!!! Sorry guys had to vent...

 

[ChrisK]

I hope you all never have to deal with these people...I was recently involved in a very very minor fender bender and the guy who hit me had progressive insurance!! So anyway, the accident happened last Monday!! The adjuster barely came to look at my dented fender on Monday!! She comes and I start explaining to her exactly what happened and what damage was caused!! She starts taking pictures of my car and try to BS conversation!!

Here is what I don't get. Why in hell did the other parties insurance adjuster inspect your car? You supposed to have your insurance company to the adjusting, you pay your deductable, than you insurance company gets the money from the other parties insurance (Progressice in this case) and refunds your deducable. Of course the offending parties insurance company is going to low ball you. Also, someone hit my sister and had Gieco, and they took about 4 months to settle with my sister for her totaled car. There was no question about their member being at fault, there was no question that the car was totaled, my sister wasn't asking for anything more than what the said the blue book was, but they just keept trying to get the price lower and lower. Finally after like 6 months they cut her a check.

But anyway, my body shop usually fights the insurance company for more money when it is warranted. But I still don't know why their adjuster made the inspection. Your insurance does not go up as long as you have zero liability.

Here is my last ajustment for my minor fender bender.

Insurace paid for a repair on my right fender only, repaint of the front bumper cover. That alone was just over $900.

 

[KNLNGUS]

GoldenCoupe, I'm sitting here, drinking my first cup of joe and I'm getting hot under the colar just reading your post.

I don't care where a car receives and impact, when certain components are subjected to other than normal operating conditions they can fail. There is a transfer of energy from the point of impact so that adjuster can shove her pen, pencil and clipboard where the sun doesn't shine.

Why don't you ask her if she sleeps well at night or feels secure in her faith (not that I do) trying to rip you off, knowing full well the possiblity exists for secondary damage. Cheesous!

At your earliest convenience, please keep us fully updated.

KNLNGUS

 

[CWA-94GS]

It does seem odd that the other folks insurance company is looking at your car. No doubt they want to lowball you. This is a typical move. They figure you take your check and go to the bank rather than press the issue. Its impossible for them assess all the damage just by looking at the outside of the car. Get several estimates (3) and show these to both insurance companies. Have your adjustor come and look at the car. Remain calm and civilized and present your arguments well. You should be able to get more money. If your insurance company doesn't want to help you, get a new one!
When I had an accident a very nice woman came out with this cool van with a mini office set up in the back. She looked at my car, and then went to her desk and started looking things up on the computer. She had this really cool software which had pictures and part numbers. She printed out a detailed estimate and then she printed out a CHECK!!! I asked her about my suspension which was really screwed up. She said if it costs more just call and they will take care of it and they did. I pay a little more but I think its worth it.

 

[DaTimez420]

first off, any check that is cut first from an insurance company is always going to be much much less than the cost to completely fix and repair what is wrong. the reason they do that is just in case you don't want to get the car fixed or want to do it yourself. if you don't get it fixed and take the check, you get just that small lump sum. however, if you decide to take it to a body shop, which will always at least double the insurance's estimate, the body shop will negotiate with the insurance and the insurance will pay to get everything fixed.

example...my wreck...insurance photographed it and cut me a check for $1,900, which I could have taken and called it even. Well by the time body shop was done with all the repairs (new hood, bumper, fender, paint, etc...), the repairs totalled well over $5,500. The insurance ended up paying it all. They called me one day while the repairs were taking place, and cut me another check that I received two days later for a couple more thousand, then the rest of the cost once the body shop was done, was sent directly to the body shop.

never take it as is. take to a body shop (of your choice, therefore, like i did, the most expensive, and professional one in my whole area), and the insurance will not be able to say no.

 

[Alexander]

Yup, insurance always low ball you, so make sure you go to your friendly neighborhood bodyshop, repair it to your satisfaction, and I'm sure they will cut you another check to cover all of the repair cost. Personally, I've been with progressive for 4 year, not anymore though. They's good insurance company, cheap rate, and top notch customer service. My wrecked Honda Accord got totalled, and the settlement amount is very very fair, no problem at all. Maybe this is just rare occasion, but overall, I like being with progressive. No problem here.

 

[94legendsedan]

yes yes progressive sadly to say is also my insurance provider. when i got into my accident last week my speed sensor failed, my fender liners got ripped, i needed a new hood, need front fender, etc etc. the quote i got from a shop was about $2500 and progressive said "oh, the speed sensor and fender liners are not vital components to your vehicle, and you have no proof that the accident caused the need for them to be replaced" so therefore, they wrote me a check for $1500. i know the speed sensor and fender liners don't equal 1000, but what type of sh!t is taht?

 

[MrOnions]

my part of the pie

i might as well contribute my insurance story:

way back when, i owned a miata (stop laughing... it's a fun car), this guy was running from the cops in a lincoln, plowed through a stop sign going around 90mph, and i happened to colide with him perpendicualarly doing 70mph... as we all found out, rear wheel cars slow down considerably when their rear axle and drive shaft are removed.

anyway, their insurance company reniged on the liability because when you're DUI'ing and running from the 5-0's, your insurance gets dropped.

so moral of the story:

get (un/under)insured motorist coverage! while, yes, they still stiffed me on the settlement (i was arguing like crazy for more $ b/c of a recent 120k checkup, new rotors, blah blah blah) otherwise i would've been stuck taking the ******** to small claims court instead getting $ and having my insurance provider go through that crap!

(oh, and don't run from the cops unless you're sure you can get away )

 

[jedmund1]

****, after reading all these threads, does anyone have a good story about insurance, and if so, what insurance is it.

 

[ChrisK]

****, after reading all these threads, does anyone have a good story about insurance, and if so, what insurance is it.

I'm not sure if you followed my last minor accident where the a BMW came from teh left lane, but off the car that I was following in the right lane, nearly came to a complete stop while trying to make an illegal U turn, anyway, you get the picture. I barely cliped the cars rear bumper, so my damage was a pushed in fender, my 1 piece lights was seperated at the corner (easy fix since I opened them up and sealed them up before), and my corner of my front bumper had some surface scuff marks. Her car only had somoe scuff marks from my black car, and her car was white. Anyway, there are two parts to this story. Fisrt, the BMW guy lied by saying he was in the right land already just slowing down to make a right turn. Because of this, all the insurace accident investigators had to go to the sceen and investigate each persons story. If they could not prrove he was in the wrong, I would be liable for the 2nd car damage as well as my own. The good thing is after 2 months, the BMW accepted 30% liability, car #2 accepted 70%, and I had ZERO. I paid nothing. Second part was when my insurace adjuster was inspecting my car, he could not find a listing for the 1 piece headlights. I told him it was European (I know, it is JDM) and it came with the car when I bought it. He told me he doesn't have a listing for it so has no way of getting the cost for it. I told him I belond to a Legend internet car club and I can get the part. he told me good, get the part, get me the receipt, and they will cut me a check for it. He also was inspecting my rims, and saw a little scuff mark on the tire that might have been from the impact. Because of this, they give my money for an alignment. Also, he noticed curb damage on my rim, so he said to get the receipt and he will cut me a check for a new rim. Keep in mind these rims are old since 1997 and had a lot of curb dmage already, but he said there was a slight chance that the accident could have made more damage, so he was willing to cut me a check for the coset of 1 rim. These rims cost me an arm and a leg basck then, and 1 rim would have given me an extra $800+. But I declined and told them it was alrady there. So, may last dealing with State Farm was good. They did a good job fighting the other insurace company on my behalf, and they were willing to cover a lot of things I know they were not obligated to cover.

However, the other time I dealt with them the slightly low balled the price. My total repair was about $8000, but they covered only about $7000. Some of the things they refused to cover was a new hood hinges when my hood was all mangled and I got a new hood (That is part of the impact damage, but not the direct point of hit, so the didn't think it was dmaged), and other things like that. My body shop says State Farm is the one he has to argue with for more money the most, but they do end up covering it if he makes the right arguments.

 

[Alexander]

Just my suggestion here, don't you ever deal with your insurance company or the other's insurance company by your own. Tell the bodyshop to do all of the talking. The insurance company will usually just pay anything that the bodyshop showed them after the car has been done. So, like speed sensor, fender liner, hood hinge, etc., just ask your bodyshop to do it, and they will get it done for you. That's what I did on my car. I don't talk with the insurance guy, I just want to know that my car is repaired to my satisfaction, and let the bodyshop do all of the dirty work. Save yourself some aggravation.

 

[Guest]

Attention: all!!!

Well, I guess I am officially S.O.L!!! I talked to my insurance company today...they told me that even though the accident was not my fault, any repairs they would cover would raise my premiums!! It sux...guess it's bondo for my fender !! I took it to some place today that is really reputable...they fixed my uncles NSX and they had a brand new ferrari in the garage!! Also various lambos, porsches, and bmw's!! My car didn't quite blend in, but the shop looks pretty good...he told me that with the 300 dollar budget they would have to repair my fender !! Oh well, it will have to do I guess!! As far as my window goes...they are unsure about that one!! Anyway, I was also told by this same body shop that my rear quarter pannel on the passenger side was previously bondoed!!! Could've fooled me!! I am in the process of finding a new/used rear quarter pannel at a junk yard...so far I've found one, my same color for 450!! Not too bad I guess...sorry guys!!

 

[Guest]

OOOOOOOOHHHH and to top it all off...that little adjuster from Progressive is gonna go look at the car again to see exactly what was repaired!! If she feels that it shouldn't have been repaired...she will charge me !!!! They told me that they would try to repair my rim!! How good does a rim come out after it's been resurfaced? What's involved? Oh...and by the way...I get to cruise a MALIBU!!!

 

[ChrisK]

OOOOOOOOHHHH and to top it all off...that little adjuster from Progressive is gonna go look at the car again to see exactly what was repaired!! If she feels that it shouldn't have been repaired...she will charge me !!!! They told me that they would try to repair my rim!! How good does a rim come out after it's been resurfaced? What's involved? Oh...and by the way...I get to cruise a MALIBU!!!

Did she cut you the check in your name?

Also, is your state a No Fault state. Mine is, so maybe that is why my rates never go up if it is not my fault. I think you should find yourself another insurace company. Someone who will take care of you better. I was planning on dropping State Farm if they weren't willing to fight for me, but they did, so I'm keeping them for now.

Ask the Progressive adjuster if you can get other things fixed at while your car is at the body shop at your own expense. For staters, just let the body shop handle this insurance claim. They will fight for you for more money to do the job right.

 

[SushiLicious]

Sheesh..insurance story nightmares. Well let's see, I have Progressive and they've always been good to me. But I'll share some stories:


Had the car 6 mths, parked a gas pump, when into to pay, come out, and ****, someone has backed into my hood then took off. Had to have the hood repaired and get a new grill. Took it to progressive, and several body shops, brought my estimates with me from the body shops, and the progressive guy was like okay, which do you want to use, I told him, he said drop off the car, and give them his business card and all would be taken care of (well minus my $250 deductible).

3 months later, parked in a wal-mart parking lot, went in to buy stuff, came out, and ****, a HUGE dent in my front fender from a grocery cart, I think someone was hating on me, because it looked like the cart was ramed into the car. Called progressive, same thing, they repaired it no questions (I always go to the insurance adjuster with quotes).

Before that, I had a '95 Prelude. Some guy backed into the rear bumper, took it to his insurance (state farm), with quotes of course. They said take it to the body shop of my choice and have them call him. Voila, fixed with a brand new bumper.

3 mths after the bumper on the 'lude, some kid backs into the side of the car. ****, officer says no one is at fault because we both backed out at the same time (whatever). Kid had Farmers Insurance, took it to his adjuster, fought it, they investigated, said it was his fault and covered it. Got a new door, new window switches, new window (it broke out the window as the window was rolled down), and they body shop panted the entire side of the car so that it would match and insurance paid for it.

I've always been nice to the adjuster and I always go in with 3 quotes from body shops. I try to be reasonable and they have always treated me very nicely. But then again, I live in NW Arkansas and it has a hometown homey feeling here. Not sure what it's like in a big city.