The Repair Process
We have intended this section to be helpful in the case of an unfortunate accident!
At the Scene of the Accident.....
-
Get a police report, if possible. (Note: Any proof or evidence you can get in your favor the better off you will be when it comes time for the responsible party to pay. Example...Pictures, recordings and names of eye witnesses.)
-
Get insurance information of the other party.
-
Have vehicle towed, if undriveable, to a storage facility until a decision can be made on where you want to have your vehicle repaired, or tow straight to the shop of your choice. (Note: NEVER allow the insurance company to steer you to a shop that they prefer you to use. They call these shops preferred shops or DRP's (Direct Repair Shops) shops. It always benefits them if you go to a shop they are in bed with. Get more information at StopDRP.com.
How to Choose a Repair Shop......It's Your Choice
-
Make sure you use a quality repair shop you can trust.
-
Ask your friends, relatives or co-workers, never the insurance company.
-
If your vehicle was towed, ask the towing company for recommendations.
-
TEXAS LAW: 1952.301 (b) In settling a liability claim by a third party against an insured for property damage claimed by the third party, an insurer may not require the third-party claimant to have repairs made by a particular repair person or facility or to use a particular brand, type, kind, age, vendor, supplier, or condition of parts or products.
-
Angie's List Article about DRP shops: https://www.angieslist.com/articles/go-slow-when-using-auto-insurance-repair.htm
The Repair Process.......
-
Step 1: Report damage to the insurance company.
-
Step 2: The insurance company will, more than likely, send an adjuster out to write a repair estimate. We will also write our own repair estimate to ensure proper repairs are being blueprinted for the safety of our customer. The blueprinting process may begin before a complete tear down and will be finalized once the tear down has been done. We then have to wait on the insurance company to approve repairs before we can begin, unless it is an out of pocket expense.
-
Step 3: Schedule the vehicle in for repair.
-
Step 4: Disassemble vehicle to inspect for additional damage, which most of the time there is more damage that was not visible until we start stripping the damage parts off.
-
Step 5: Begin repair process.
-
Step 6: Supplement Request - This is a request to the insurance company for any additional damage and/or operations that was not included on the original estimate, whether it be from the insurance companies original estimate or our own.
-
Step 7: Continuation of the repair process.....we can only estimate how long this will take. It depends on how quickly your insurance company approves any supplemental damage along with how much damage your vehicle has to be repaired.
-
Step 8: Finish up repairs and clean up
-
Step 9: Payment of final bill - This is normally handled by the insurance company but usually requires the customer to endorse the checks and meet your deductible. Vehicles will not be released until all negotiations have ceased and all repairs have been approved by the insurance company. This includes the supplemental items.
-
Step 10: Release of vehicle.
Know Your Rights......
-
By law, you have the right to choose where your vehicle is repaired. (Note: The insurance company will send you to a shop they have an agreement with to send them work if they will do the repairs for a cheaper price, which sometimes means, they cut corners. It's a conflict of interest and fits right in with big business principles. It's a win-win for the insurance company, who saves money and for the shop, who gets more work sent to them. Often times but not always, these shops will sacrifice quality for quantity. Most times these shops have a contract with the insurance that states the shop is not permitted to tell the customers certain information about their vehicle and the repairs being done, in other words, they are not transparent.)
-
You are not required to get more than one estimate. (Note: The estimate should be from the shop of your choice. More often than not, the insurance company will send it's own adjuster to write an estimate or half an estimate, as we say, which we are required to work off of initially.
-
Rental policies are not normally included in your auto policy. It is something that has to be added to your policy.
-
Your insurance company may not give you enough to pay your vehicle off if it is totaled, so it's always good to inquire about gap insurance.
-
You don't have to accept what the insurance company gives you for repairs. They don't always have your best interest at heart only their bottom line dollar amount, so ask us how we can help you get what you are entitled to.