Procedures for assessing a damaged car?
October 20, 2022 2:38 PM Subscribe
What's the usual procedure when an auto insurer assesses the damage to an insured car? My friend's car was hit, and her insurer is acting shady -- or is it?
A friend's legally-parked 2016 Subaru Impreza was side-swiped in a hit-and-run. It was hit hard by an F150, and the damage is severe--back tire deflated, rim bent, both driver's-side doors gashed. She saw the truck drive off, but unfortunately, she wasn't able to get the license number and none of her neighbors' security cameras got a good angle. Her insurance is 21st Century/Farmers', and today the agent (to whom she had sent photos of the car) called to say it was totalled and that a towing company would call me to arrange to tow it. She would not, however, give my friend the amount they were valuing the car and didn't offer any document to show how the assessment had been done. When my friend pushed back on this, she explained it was being towed to a third party assessor, who would inspect it closely, create the documentation, and award the value. She said they do it this way because it's "more fair." My friend finds something fishy about this procedure. Is this how this process goes normally? She thought (and I would have thought so too) that someone would come out and inspect the car with her, show her the value of the car and the estimate to repair the damages....basically do the math with her. Any advice would be helpful!
A friend's legally-parked 2016 Subaru Impreza was side-swiped in a hit-and-run. It was hit hard by an F150, and the damage is severe--back tire deflated, rim bent, both driver's-side doors gashed. She saw the truck drive off, but unfortunately, she wasn't able to get the license number and none of her neighbors' security cameras got a good angle. Her insurance is 21st Century/Farmers', and today the agent (to whom she had sent photos of the car) called to say it was totalled and that a towing company would call me to arrange to tow it. She would not, however, give my friend the amount they were valuing the car and didn't offer any document to show how the assessment had been done. When my friend pushed back on this, she explained it was being towed to a third party assessor, who would inspect it closely, create the documentation, and award the value. She said they do it this way because it's "more fair." My friend finds something fishy about this procedure. Is this how this process goes normally? She thought (and I would have thought so too) that someone would come out and inspect the car with her, show her the value of the car and the estimate to repair the damages....basically do the math with her. Any advice would be helpful!
I have a fair amount of experience with this, both professionally and personally. Meaning I've had this done for my job, and I and family members have had it done. It sounds like a pretty typical process.
(Speculating, but) the reason the agent didn't do the math is because they had some idea of how much damage was done from the pictures, and some idea of how much the car was worth, and came to the conclusion. Now, because they have obligations per law, they are actually doing the math, getting an estimate of the repairs that would be needed, and the true value of the car, and will use all that to calculate the loss.
To do these valuations of damage, especially for serious damage, they have to do a lot of tear-downs, and figure out all the parts that are implicated. So for severe cases, they have to be brought elsewhere for that to be done.
It can't/shouldn't be done on the street. But someone with experience (i.e., the agent) can do a ball park estimate, and say whether it's close or obvious.
So all in all, sounds pretty typical, but that the agent was using experience in the first communication, and now they're gathering evidence.
posted by China Grover at 3:12 PM on October 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
(Speculating, but) the reason the agent didn't do the math is because they had some idea of how much damage was done from the pictures, and some idea of how much the car was worth, and came to the conclusion. Now, because they have obligations per law, they are actually doing the math, getting an estimate of the repairs that would be needed, and the true value of the car, and will use all that to calculate the loss.
To do these valuations of damage, especially for serious damage, they have to do a lot of tear-downs, and figure out all the parts that are implicated. So for severe cases, they have to be brought elsewhere for that to be done.
It can't/shouldn't be done on the street. But someone with experience (i.e., the agent) can do a ball park estimate, and say whether it's close or obvious.
So all in all, sounds pretty typical, but that the agent was using experience in the first communication, and now they're gathering evidence.
posted by China Grover at 3:12 PM on October 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
They can push back on the valuation, esp. since used car prices are so high right now. Because it couldn't be moved, it had to be towed. It's their car until they accept a payment and give up the title, so even though it's not present, they can negotiate. I'd start shopping for a replacement, and getting comparable prices. Cars.com has a research area, KBB, probably others, and check craigslist, fb marketplace, ebay.
posted by theora55 at 3:35 PM on October 20, 2022
posted by theora55 at 3:35 PM on October 20, 2022
I had almost exactly the same thing happen to me in 2012. Legally street-parked, side-swiped, doors gashed, tire hit. They didn't come out, they towed the then 11 year old car to the assessor. Everyone assumed it was going to be totaled, but no... they decided to fix it. The repairs inexplicably cost them more than I had paid for the car a few years prior. The car came back in the "like-used" condition it was in the day before it got hit.
They really do have to put it up on a lift to do the inspection, though, not just a walk-around. I think towing in a situation like this really is standard procedure.
posted by eschatfische at 4:25 PM on October 20, 2022
They really do have to put it up on a lift to do the inspection, though, not just a walk-around. I think towing in a situation like this really is standard procedure.
posted by eschatfische at 4:25 PM on October 20, 2022
There's a pretty standard tool that collision damage assessors use, to the extent that nowadays if you tried to get the old-school standard of three assessments from three different auto body shops it's likely they'd all come with an identical printout generated by the same tool, matching to the penny. The standard tool assigns parts and labor to each identified procedure. If you've got a damaged door, it'll say that the new part costs whatever the manufacturer says it does, it'll take a specified amount of paint at whatever cost, and then it will assign a standard amount of labor to the repair.
FWIW at one point years ago I was involved in a crash where my insurance company gave me the same "it's a total loss" assessment before they got the car on a lift, and I went to the yard to get all my personal stuff out of the car and wave goodbye. I even did some preliminary shopping for a new car. Then once they inspected it they said it wasn't totaled after all. It's kind of a crapshoot, depending on the age and condition of the car before the crash, but I would not expect a reputable insurer to try to cheat this process.
posted by fedward at 8:50 AM on October 21, 2022
FWIW at one point years ago I was involved in a crash where my insurance company gave me the same "it's a total loss" assessment before they got the car on a lift, and I went to the yard to get all my personal stuff out of the car and wave goodbye. I even did some preliminary shopping for a new car. Then once they inspected it they said it wasn't totaled after all. It's kind of a crapshoot, depending on the age and condition of the car before the crash, but I would not expect a reputable insurer to try to cheat this process.
posted by fedward at 8:50 AM on October 21, 2022
That's normal.
Nowadays, with "space frame" monocoque construction, the internal bits can be bent in a collision and unless measured with lasers and stuff like that, the car may never drive right.
Agent can usually eyeball the damage, based on the severity of the impact. Heck, I've seen some collision shops trained an AI to spit out such an estimate! But that's just an estimate. As I said before, actual damage assessment requires some precise measurements. Some bits may be replaceable, or reformed back into shape. And a new cost will be reached.
So, situation normal. :)
posted by kschang at 10:29 AM on October 21, 2022
Nowadays, with "space frame" monocoque construction, the internal bits can be bent in a collision and unless measured with lasers and stuff like that, the car may never drive right.
Agent can usually eyeball the damage, based on the severity of the impact. Heck, I've seen some collision shops trained an AI to spit out such an estimate! But that's just an estimate. As I said before, actual damage assessment requires some precise measurements. Some bits may be replaceable, or reformed back into shape. And a new cost will be reached.
So, situation normal. :)
posted by kschang at 10:29 AM on October 21, 2022
what ended up happining?
The comments here are odd
if it was totaled, as you stated, the amount given should be the fair market price for said vehicle. It doesn't matter to anyone what the car's condition was after the accident. Perhaps they want to assess its condition before?
posted by couchdive at 10:47 AM on November 2, 2022
The comments here are odd
if it was totaled, as you stated, the amount given should be the fair market price for said vehicle. It doesn't matter to anyone what the car's condition was after the accident. Perhaps they want to assess its condition before?
posted by couchdive at 10:47 AM on November 2, 2022
@couchdive -- I believe OP was wondering about the adjuster's initial "eyeball" estimate says "it's totaled", but after consulting with the shop or detailed inspection, revised the status to "we will fix that", and wonder how that "really works".
posted by kschang at 3:01 AM on November 5, 2022
posted by kschang at 3:01 AM on November 5, 2022
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Once I chose a body shop I did have to meet an adjuster there to go over whether every single ding and scratch on my car came from the Incident In Question, lest I have a non-Incident scratch buffed out on insurance's dime.
The only time I've gotten an in-situ assessment was for glass damage, and I had to sign a whole thing saying I understood glass was the only thing being assessed and if I later found additional damage from whatever broke my glass that would be a separate claim process.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:10 PM on October 20, 2022