How do I argue with my insurance company over a claim estimate? They want to pay less than my written est.?

Question

Two of my vehicles got damaged by a UHaul trailer. Their insurance company wants to pay less than my written est. I got an estimate and then they sent out an appraiser. I think their number is going to be substantially lower. How do I go about resolving this? One of the vehicles that was damaged I no longer even own, since it's taken them so long to resolve.

Answer 1

It's a fairly ocmmon practice for an insurance company to have an appraiser write their own estimate. Many body shops will overshoot the needed repair times or write to replace a part that is not needed. The company just wants to make sure that your getting an amount that is accurate and not overinflated to make a larger profit. If your repair shop says they cannot repair the vehicles for the amount written by the appraiser, file a claim with your own insurance company and have them write an estimate. You'll then be able to see if the appraisers figures are off or if your chosen body shop just wants to pad their pockets a little more.

Answer 2

You'll either have to keep taking it up the internal management chain in the insurance company or go to mediation to settle the amount.  Either way, it's a pain.  Good luck to you.

Answer 3

Every State has an Insurance Commissioner and each state has particular laws about claims.  You didn't mention what State you're in.

In my state of Texas, 1 estimate is all you need and the party responsible for the damage has NO choice but to pay it.

U-Haul is not a small company but I'm sure they handle a lot of claims.  Tell them you will contact the Insurance Commissioner to determine if what they are doing is correct.

Usually just a mention of involvement with an Insurance Commissioner scares the beejeez, since they have the ability to audit all files for fairness.