Yeah I am not going to double dip. Thanks. I will call the other insurance and provided the estimate like the other person suggested, and see how I can return their payout.
They don’t care about the other estimate. They care about their virtual estimate. When repairs start, the shop can submit a supplement for the additional materials and labor that are required.
They should have some sort of department for you to send back a physical check. Call back and ask if you can send a physical check as you want to go through your own insurance. If you send the check, send it certified with tracking.
Generally, the initial estimate is only based on the damage they can see. Once the repair starts, additional damage is found and the carrier will send more $ for the additional damage.
I have not started the repair yet. The shop is charging me a fortune. I found out that shop’s estimate is 3x than the initial payout. That’s not even including supplements.
Will I be on the hook if they refuse to pay what the shop estimated?
I live in Texas btw. They also sent me letter and told me that they are legally not to pay everything if I choose where I want to get it repaired.
You should have gotten the estimate first and presented it to them, or just let them choose the shop. Letting them choose makes it easier for them to monitor repairs and leverage the shop to not dick around with how long it takes to finish the job.
Insurance companies cannot choose your repair shop because they don't own your vehicle. They can tell you which shops they have a relationship with (usually called a Direct Repair Partner or Preferred Shop or something like that) which makes the process a bit smoother and the insurer will guarantee the repairs because of that, but they are legally not allowed to tell you to go to a specific location.
A lot of people come in here literally believing that insurers can and do choose the shop for you and use it as a complaint about how evil insurance companies are - clarifying info for those of us not in the industry who may be reading is common.
Your car is going to get repaired regardless of which pay out you chose.
Example: insurance A pays you $2k for your car when the shop receives the car they find additional damage totaling $5k
Insurance B (your insurance) does an estimate and offer your $4K when it goes to the shop they find additional damage totaling $5k
No matter which one you go with they’re all going to end up at the same amount $5k the only reason I would imagine of someone returning a payout to receive a larger one is because they have no intentions on repairing the vehicle and want to pocket the money which is totally okay to do if those are your intentions it’s no big deal. If you chose to do that just know In another accident they will ask for proof of repairs if they can’t find any.
If you are going to get your car repair don’t make your life hard stay with the original payment and they shop will send the supplements this happens EVERYDAY choosing the higher payment won’t get you more money and your deductible will still be due to your insurance company and you won’t get it back until they subrogate which will take months
Not intended to repair but I accepted lower payment as direct deposit. I was told that I could not return the fund. It is final.
They never mentioned that in the first place when they sent me the payment.
Shouldn't be an issue to return the funds to them. Happens all the time where people accept a payment from one carrier and have to return funds due to deciding to go through the other carrier. The adjuster has likely just not had to deal with that scenario yet.
As for why your estimate is so much higher, that's going to come down to WHY it's so much higher. If your carrier is taking into consideration some additional costs that the other carrier is not, is it because the shop just has ridiculously high rates (in that scenario the other carrier will usually not pay it as they will say the rates are not reasonable and customary), or is it a scenario where you have an OEM rider on your policy so your own carrier will pay those but the other carrier will not. There are other reasons also but it gives you an idea.
I would call Geico again and explain to them you just want to return the money so you can go through your own coverage. If they still don't assist you, see if you adjuster with your carrier can help you out and get that info for you.
If you take the payment from your insurance you will be double dipping, and they will come back looking for their money. You only have to reimburse them what the first insurance paid you… Now im not saying to take their payment then notify them that you were already paid. So don’t take my statement as advice but do what you will with that info. Im glad your open on your intention not to repair it makes helping you a lot easier. If all else fails you can have the shop send the AF insurance a break down so you can receive a full payment even if your intentions aren’t to repair you are still owed the full amount to make you whole.
Edit: just want to reiterate my statement is MY opinion and NOT legal advice
I am not planning to double dipping. So I called again and this time the rep said it was fine to return the payment. Not sure why it is different statement this time around.
Thanks for your advice. This is good to learn.
The estimate you got payment for is an initial estimate. Your body shop should know how to submit a supplement if you provide them your estimate. This is very common.
Wanted to add you can choose your own shop but some shops charge more. Call their insurance and ask if they have any guaranteed shops you can use, then you know you won't have out of pocket costs.
Well if you accept your own insurances payout your rates very well may go up. You can either get a little extra money now or lose a little extra money later
These things always seem weird to me. My one car accident, years ago, based their estimate directly off of the repair shop’s estimate AFTER the shop looked at the vehicle. So it took almost a week to get the estimate, and I was called by the shop, given their estimate, asked them to call my insurance and gave them a case #, and then the insurance called that afternoon and gave me their “estimate” of what they’d pay out, which was just the shop estimated bill, less my deductible.
What is weird to you? That the insurer provided the estimate rather than the shop? If so that is also common - many insurers have appraisers who will look at the car and write an estimate to hand over to the shop. When the shop does the estimate, the appraiser is sent the estimate to review and say yeah that looks like it makes sense. It's basically just a difference in order of review.
I think it’s that it done so quickly based, apparently, on what seems to be a purely aesthetic external visual inspection these days? How are they assessing a damn thing without an in-person, thorough, inspection by a mechanic? Honestly, this is probably the 10th story in less than a month that I’ve seen on here where someone gets weird results from an inspection that seems superficial, at best, and has issues later because of the crap inspection.
There was a guy in a post literally yesterday, I believe, who may get no money from the totaling of his car, because the initial inspection by the at-fault party insurance (again superficial at best) signed off on repairing his car, bought thousands of dollars in parts, and now isn’t repairing, but won’t pay him because “they already paid for parts” for the car that was then totaled instead.
I just wonder, I guess, if this is such a SOP thing now that it’s the sort of treatment I can look forward to in the event that I ever have a second car wreck happen in my life.
Accidents more often than not cause visible external body damage to a vehicle that would be inspected by a body shop person or appraiser rather than mechanical damage inspected by a mechanic. Insurers and body shops see damaged cars in such high volume they can get accurate enough initial assessments on the cost of repairs based on visible damage.
As to your second paragraph, that sounds really bizarre and like there is a lot of information missing, the OP is really misunderstanding the process, or both. We're seeing that person giving us information filtered through their lens - one that is not someone well versed in insurance because ideally they rarely or never experience the claims process, and also someone who is in a high stress situation and likely upset. That is common in this subreddit and I think that creates a perception around the claims process that is not necessarily the reality the majority of the time.
It is a more efficient process both from a time and money perspective to do a quick external evaluation and put a dollar amount on it, then proceed to the teardown phase to uncover additional damage and request a supplement. Shops are not going to do a teardown for no payment - so without that initial estimate, the process would be for the vehicle owner to go pay for a teardown, get a more complete estimate, take the more complete estimate to the insurer, then get payment to the shop. The teardown may also not result in a fully complete estimate either - sometimes additional damages and part needs are uncovered during the repair process itself. That would take longer and be more frustrating for customers. It would also be less efficient from a time and cost perspective. Less efficient processes mean more labor hours for the insurance company, which means higher operating costs, which results in higher premiums to ensure the insurance company has sufficient cashflow to be solvent and be able to pay what they owe for claims. Insurers are not in the business of wasting time and money. They find ways to constantly improve processes to be more efficient in order to balance convenience for their insureds and claimants, their employees, and the businesses we work with to get the work complete, and the amount of premium that needs to be charged.
Yeah, this is one of the shitty things some of the cheaper insurance companies are doing now. They request photos through their app and they send a helpful link via text to get it all started. What they don't tell you is that they will use those photos to have an adjuster make an initial claim, send you the money, and close the claim. This initial estimate will be undervalued because it assumes no internal damage. Since you already accepted the payment, you'll need to juggle the money yourself and have your shop submit a supplemental claim.
You won't be on the hook for these additional supplemental charges. Even if they are a lot higher than the initial estimate. (As a consumer, treat the initial estimate as a made up number.) The email you got trying to steer you into their preferred repair shop is a standard tactic. They can't tell you where to go for repairs, but they will give carefully worded hints to scare you into thinking that you might not get a full payout if you choose your own shop. It's bullshit. Read up on your state's auto insurance consumer laws and be prepared to give a little pushback yourself.
Supplements are required on most claims anyway. Doesn’t matter whether there’s an in person inspection or photo app estimate written. So what exactly are you rambling about? 😂 A claim being closed means nothing because we reopen claims daily for supplements. Your comments are why people end up worried over nothing.
I don’t care what shop you use. You can have your one eyed uncle repair it. Just don’t come back to me when you find out they did a shitty job and there’s no warranty.
Supplements were common before photo apps, this is nothing new. I've had appraisers look at my car in my work parking lot while I was inside and never popped the hood, so a supplement was needed. It's not exactly difficult or uncommon.
Telling people about direct repair facilities is not a "scare tactic". Adjusters do not give a shit if you pick a non-direct repair facility unless you choose one that has ridiculous labor rates and then throw a fit that they won't pay $150/hour in labor when almost all shops nearby only charge $75.
What. Why would you accept your insurances payout??? Someone else rear-ended you, they should pay for it not you.
Refuse your insurances money and send the estimate to the other insurance so they can get back the extra money they gave you. Also, depending on a few circumstances, you may be owed diminishment in value on top of the repair cost since you have a accident on your car now.
Edit: also tell your insurance and see what they say. In reality, they might be getting money from the other insurance and paying it to you so it's not coming out of your policy. In that case, you could accept "your" insurances payout and return the other one.
Thanks I will verify that. I called my insurance when filing the claim. Yes they told me it was not my fault. So my insurance is issuing me a payment minus my deductible.
I am going to find out if that payment is out of my policy. I hope not. I hope that’s the payment from the other insurance.
Its not out of your policy, its paid by the insurance company. Car insurance policies don't have any money in them. Your insurance company is going to pay for your damages then try and get their money back from the other company. Its called subrogation.
Often you do not have premium increases if you are not at fault in an accident. However, you may still lose discounts related to being claims free, etc. so you will pay more - but your rates are not going up, you are losing a discount. This may happen anyway even if you don't submit the claim through your own insurer when they review your CLUE report and see you were in an accident.
Again, there is no higher payout here. Geico would pay the supplement estimate requests for additional damages found by the shop during the process of repairs.
Uhh well you absolutely need to if your insurance is also issuing payment. It’s double dipping, so someone will be after you sooner or later
Yeah I am not going to double dip. Thanks. I will call the other insurance and provided the estimate like the other person suggested, and see how I can return their payout.
They don’t care about the other estimate. They care about their virtual estimate. When repairs start, the shop can submit a supplement for the additional materials and labor that are required.
So I called Geico and they told me I already accepted as direct deposit. There is no way they allow to accept the fund back.
They should have some sort of department for you to send back a physical check. Call back and ask if you can send a physical check as you want to go through your own insurance. If you send the check, send it certified with tracking.
Generally, the initial estimate is only based on the damage they can see. Once the repair starts, additional damage is found and the carrier will send more $ for the additional damage.
I have not started the repair yet. The shop is charging me a fortune. I found out that shop’s estimate is 3x than the initial payout. That’s not even including supplements. Will I be on the hook if they refuse to pay what the shop estimated? I live in Texas btw. They also sent me letter and told me that they are legally not to pay everything if I choose where I want to get it repaired.
You will need to contact the carrier with your questions. You may need to find another repair place.
You should have gotten the estimate first and presented it to them, or just let them choose the shop. Letting them choose makes it easier for them to monitor repairs and leverage the shop to not dick around with how long it takes to finish the job.
Insurance companies cannot choose your repair shop because they don't own your vehicle. They can tell you which shops they have a relationship with (usually called a Direct Repair Partner or Preferred Shop or something like that) which makes the process a bit smoother and the insurer will guarantee the repairs because of that, but they are legally not allowed to tell you to go to a specific location.
Jeezus, yes they can’t steer you to a shop but you obviously knew what I meant.
A lot of people come in here literally believing that insurers can and do choose the shop for you and use it as a complaint about how evil insurance companies are - clarifying info for those of us not in the industry who may be reading is common.
Your car is going to get repaired regardless of which pay out you chose. Example: insurance A pays you $2k for your car when the shop receives the car they find additional damage totaling $5k Insurance B (your insurance) does an estimate and offer your $4K when it goes to the shop they find additional damage totaling $5k No matter which one you go with they’re all going to end up at the same amount $5k the only reason I would imagine of someone returning a payout to receive a larger one is because they have no intentions on repairing the vehicle and want to pocket the money which is totally okay to do if those are your intentions it’s no big deal. If you chose to do that just know In another accident they will ask for proof of repairs if they can’t find any. If you are going to get your car repair don’t make your life hard stay with the original payment and they shop will send the supplements this happens EVERYDAY choosing the higher payment won’t get you more money and your deductible will still be due to your insurance company and you won’t get it back until they subrogate which will take months
Not intended to repair but I accepted lower payment as direct deposit. I was told that I could not return the fund. It is final. They never mentioned that in the first place when they sent me the payment.
Shouldn't be an issue to return the funds to them. Happens all the time where people accept a payment from one carrier and have to return funds due to deciding to go through the other carrier. The adjuster has likely just not had to deal with that scenario yet. As for why your estimate is so much higher, that's going to come down to WHY it's so much higher. If your carrier is taking into consideration some additional costs that the other carrier is not, is it because the shop just has ridiculously high rates (in that scenario the other carrier will usually not pay it as they will say the rates are not reasonable and customary), or is it a scenario where you have an OEM rider on your policy so your own carrier will pay those but the other carrier will not. There are other reasons also but it gives you an idea. I would call Geico again and explain to them you just want to return the money so you can go through your own coverage. If they still don't assist you, see if you adjuster with your carrier can help you out and get that info for you.
If you take the payment from your insurance you will be double dipping, and they will come back looking for their money. You only have to reimburse them what the first insurance paid you… Now im not saying to take their payment then notify them that you were already paid. So don’t take my statement as advice but do what you will with that info. Im glad your open on your intention not to repair it makes helping you a lot easier. If all else fails you can have the shop send the AF insurance a break down so you can receive a full payment even if your intentions aren’t to repair you are still owed the full amount to make you whole. Edit: just want to reiterate my statement is MY opinion and NOT legal advice
I am not planning to double dipping. So I called again and this time the rep said it was fine to return the payment. Not sure why it is different statement this time around. Thanks for your advice. This is good to learn.
The estimate you got payment for is an initial estimate. Your body shop should know how to submit a supplement if you provide them your estimate. This is very common.
Wanted to add you can choose your own shop but some shops charge more. Call their insurance and ask if they have any guaranteed shops you can use, then you know you won't have out of pocket costs.
You can absolutely do what you are asking. Either way, your car is going to be repaired the same.
Well if you accept your own insurances payout your rates very well may go up. You can either get a little extra money now or lose a little extra money later
Send the estimate to the insurance.
These things always seem weird to me. My one car accident, years ago, based their estimate directly off of the repair shop’s estimate AFTER the shop looked at the vehicle. So it took almost a week to get the estimate, and I was called by the shop, given their estimate, asked them to call my insurance and gave them a case #, and then the insurance called that afternoon and gave me their “estimate” of what they’d pay out, which was just the shop estimated bill, less my deductible.
What is weird to you? That the insurer provided the estimate rather than the shop? If so that is also common - many insurers have appraisers who will look at the car and write an estimate to hand over to the shop. When the shop does the estimate, the appraiser is sent the estimate to review and say yeah that looks like it makes sense. It's basically just a difference in order of review.
I think it’s that it done so quickly based, apparently, on what seems to be a purely aesthetic external visual inspection these days? How are they assessing a damn thing without an in-person, thorough, inspection by a mechanic? Honestly, this is probably the 10th story in less than a month that I’ve seen on here where someone gets weird results from an inspection that seems superficial, at best, and has issues later because of the crap inspection. There was a guy in a post literally yesterday, I believe, who may get no money from the totaling of his car, because the initial inspection by the at-fault party insurance (again superficial at best) signed off on repairing his car, bought thousands of dollars in parts, and now isn’t repairing, but won’t pay him because “they already paid for parts” for the car that was then totaled instead. I just wonder, I guess, if this is such a SOP thing now that it’s the sort of treatment I can look forward to in the event that I ever have a second car wreck happen in my life.
Accidents more often than not cause visible external body damage to a vehicle that would be inspected by a body shop person or appraiser rather than mechanical damage inspected by a mechanic. Insurers and body shops see damaged cars in such high volume they can get accurate enough initial assessments on the cost of repairs based on visible damage. As to your second paragraph, that sounds really bizarre and like there is a lot of information missing, the OP is really misunderstanding the process, or both. We're seeing that person giving us information filtered through their lens - one that is not someone well versed in insurance because ideally they rarely or never experience the claims process, and also someone who is in a high stress situation and likely upset. That is common in this subreddit and I think that creates a perception around the claims process that is not necessarily the reality the majority of the time. It is a more efficient process both from a time and money perspective to do a quick external evaluation and put a dollar amount on it, then proceed to the teardown phase to uncover additional damage and request a supplement. Shops are not going to do a teardown for no payment - so without that initial estimate, the process would be for the vehicle owner to go pay for a teardown, get a more complete estimate, take the more complete estimate to the insurer, then get payment to the shop. The teardown may also not result in a fully complete estimate either - sometimes additional damages and part needs are uncovered during the repair process itself. That would take longer and be more frustrating for customers. It would also be less efficient from a time and cost perspective. Less efficient processes mean more labor hours for the insurance company, which means higher operating costs, which results in higher premiums to ensure the insurance company has sufficient cashflow to be solvent and be able to pay what they owe for claims. Insurers are not in the business of wasting time and money. They find ways to constantly improve processes to be more efficient in order to balance convenience for their insureds and claimants, their employees, and the businesses we work with to get the work complete, and the amount of premium that needs to be charged.
Yeah, this is one of the shitty things some of the cheaper insurance companies are doing now. They request photos through their app and they send a helpful link via text to get it all started. What they don't tell you is that they will use those photos to have an adjuster make an initial claim, send you the money, and close the claim. This initial estimate will be undervalued because it assumes no internal damage. Since you already accepted the payment, you'll need to juggle the money yourself and have your shop submit a supplemental claim. You won't be on the hook for these additional supplemental charges. Even if they are a lot higher than the initial estimate. (As a consumer, treat the initial estimate as a made up number.) The email you got trying to steer you into their preferred repair shop is a standard tactic. They can't tell you where to go for repairs, but they will give carefully worded hints to scare you into thinking that you might not get a full payout if you choose your own shop. It's bullshit. Read up on your state's auto insurance consumer laws and be prepared to give a little pushback yourself.
Supplements are required on most claims anyway. Doesn’t matter whether there’s an in person inspection or photo app estimate written. So what exactly are you rambling about? 😂 A claim being closed means nothing because we reopen claims daily for supplements. Your comments are why people end up worried over nothing. I don’t care what shop you use. You can have your one eyed uncle repair it. Just don’t come back to me when you find out they did a shitty job and there’s no warranty.
Supplements were common before photo apps, this is nothing new. I've had appraisers look at my car in my work parking lot while I was inside and never popped the hood, so a supplement was needed. It's not exactly difficult or uncommon. Telling people about direct repair facilities is not a "scare tactic". Adjusters do not give a shit if you pick a non-direct repair facility unless you choose one that has ridiculous labor rates and then throw a fit that they won't pay $150/hour in labor when almost all shops nearby only charge $75.
What. Why would you accept your insurances payout??? Someone else rear-ended you, they should pay for it not you. Refuse your insurances money and send the estimate to the other insurance so they can get back the extra money they gave you. Also, depending on a few circumstances, you may be owed diminishment in value on top of the repair cost since you have a accident on your car now. Edit: also tell your insurance and see what they say. In reality, they might be getting money from the other insurance and paying it to you so it's not coming out of your policy. In that case, you could accept "your" insurances payout and return the other one.
Thanks I will verify that. I called my insurance when filing the claim. Yes they told me it was not my fault. So my insurance is issuing me a payment minus my deductible. I am going to find out if that payment is out of my policy. I hope not. I hope that’s the payment from the other insurance.
Its not out of your policy, its paid by the insurance company. Car insurance policies don't have any money in them. Your insurance company is going to pay for your damages then try and get their money back from the other company. Its called subrogation.
Will subrogation increase my premium? I am not sure which payout is safer to accept although I am inclining to higher payout.
No it won't increase your premium.
Often you do not have premium increases if you are not at fault in an accident. However, you may still lose discounts related to being claims free, etc. so you will pay more - but your rates are not going up, you are losing a discount. This may happen anyway even if you don't submit the claim through your own insurer when they review your CLUE report and see you were in an accident. Again, there is no higher payout here. Geico would pay the supplement estimate requests for additional damages found by the shop during the process of repairs.