Insurance experts. Comprehensive Insurance Claim Question
 

I filed a claim with state farm due to vandalism. I spoke with the claims department yesterday and it was communicated to me that my insurance company will send a representative to look at the car and provide an estimate. The body shop will also provide an estimate. using made up numbers

if body shop quotes $2000 to repair
insurance company quotes $1500 to repair

my insurance company will issue me a check for $1250 (250 less due to deductible) and i am responsible for covering the remainder of the balance when the car is done.

does this sound correct? I haven't had to file a comprehensive claim due to vandalism in a very long time and don't quite understand the process

I was always under the impression that the body shop and insurance company will determine the final bill, and i will cover the deductible upon completion of the repair

No, there will be no difference amount.

State Farm and the shop will agree to a price and that is it, all you pay out of pocket is your deductible.

Im an insurance agent, so feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions. :)

Good luck with your repairs!

edit: re-read. Is someone actually telling you that you will be responsible? If its the shop - red flag, change shops immediately. I can even refer to you one. Thats why you have FULL coverage, to return your vehicle to its original state after an incident and a deductible to pay for your share.

Thanks Beber,

That was my understanding of how my coverage would work, i'm just liable for the deductible, not any difference in costs between the insurance adjuster and the shop adjuster. I might have to contact my insurance company for further clarification. the shop in question shouldn't be a problem, this was posed by my insurance agency.

i also tried to send you a PM, but it said that you cannot receive anymore

Actually, LEGALLY, the car owner is ALWAYS responsible for paying for the repairs or any differences, the insurance company merely reimburses the car owner, always remember that. The shop and insurance company do not have to agree on a price, especially if its a cheap insurance company trying to undercut the prices. With that said, state farm is usually one of the top 3 insurance companies in paying a fair amount, and time they handle it in.

Sorry, I guess my inbox is full....... I dont know how to work this site yet though haha. Oh well...

Anywho, State Farm is a pretty good company so Im sure you dont have anything to worry about. I hope repairs come out flawless! :)

Hi Paul!

I took into account that he has a policy with SF.. Per their contract, they need to get his repairs done and he is only liable for deductible.

I have heard of some smaller companies that only cover to certain amounts deemed 'reasonable' to them and the insured is stuck with the rest...didnt know it had any truth in it though... :p

thanks for the insight. assuming that the insurance agency and body shop use the same metric to estimate time to repair, i'm only exposed to the difference in labor rate between the state farm "average" rate and the shop labor rate at the repair facility.

i never knew that this was could turn out to be a headache,

i thought that i was liable for the deductible, and not any difference between the shop labor rate and the average rate for the area determined by the insurance company



Actually, LEGALLY, the car owner is ALWAYS responsible for paying for the repairs or any differences, the insurance company merely reimburses the car owner, always remember that. The shop and insurance company do not have to agree on a price, especially if its a cheap insurance company trying to undercut the prices. With that said, state farm is usually one of the top 3 insurance companies in paying a fair amount, and time they handle it in.
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Actually, LEGALLY, the car owner is ALWAYS responsible for paying for the repairs or any differences, the insurance company merely reimburses the car owner, always remember that. The shop and insurance company do not have to agree on a price, especially if its a cheap insurance company trying to undercut the prices. With that said, state farm is usually one of the top 3 insurance companies in paying a fair amount, and time they handle it in.
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State farm usually pays a fair rate (and sometimes above fair labor rates) anyways so that will not be an issue. If the shop is a state farm select service shop, then they have already agreed to what they will work for with state farm

Beb, whats crackin?? What I was stressing was that, the contract between the shop and the owner of the car is always only between the shop owner and the car owner, the insurance company merely is reimbursing the owner of the vehicle. Meaning, whatever the car owner signs, the car owner is responsible for paying regardless of what the insurance company does. Like I said though, SF should be no problems, but some of the lower ones thats a different story.

I get ya... :p

If youre free for lunch next week, PM me!

Me or him or both haha?