How we deal with insurance companies after an accident

A lot has changed in the auto insurance industry and it changes how we deal with car insurance companies after an accident. The biggest change has been the increase in discount insurance. People want to pay less every month for car insurance. It’s understandable – insurance can be expensive. Unfortunately, discounted premiums lead to frustration after an accident.

In this guide, we answer these questions:

• What’s the normal process for getting an estimate?
• When will you work directly with my insurance company?
• Why won’t you deal with all car insurance companies after an accident?
• What should I do if you don’t work with my insurance company?
• What happens if my car insurance company won’t cover the full cost of repair?
• Do you offer payment plans or storage services?

We hope this guide will help you understand some of the challenges auto body collision repair shops face when dealing with the changing insurance industry.

What’s the normal process for getting an estimate?

If insurance is involved, you should contact them first. Let them know there’s been an accident and find out if they will write their own estimate. Remember, in North Carolina, you have the right to choose your own automotive collision repair shop.

When will you work directly with my insurance company?

We’ll be happy to speak directly with your insurance company if they are on our preferred list. We work directly with Erie Insurance and Farm Bureau Insurance.

These auto insurance companies are reputable. They also understand how to work with collision repair shops like ours.

They, like us, are committed to excellence in collision repair.

Why won’t you deal with all car insurance companies after an accident?

Do you want your car repaired correctly? We do too. That’s why we stand behind all our work with a limited lifetime warranty. We need to be sure your vehicle is repaired correctly when it rolls out of our collision center.

Discount insurance policies, and some mainstream insurance policies, now have many limits that change how we can repair your car, truck, or SUV.

For example, the insurance company often limits a repair shop to only using salvage parts from a junk yard. If you want an OEM (or OEM equivalent) replacement part, you’ll be responsible to pay the difference.

Discount policies also limit other things.

For example, they limit the amount of time our shop can spend fixing your car. They also significantly increase the amount of reviews and approvals a collision shop like ours has to go through to file a supplement.

Supplements are a process we use to update an estimate when we find hidden damage. There is almost always some amount of damage the insurance adjuster and body shop can’t see before starting the repair. This damage has to be fixed or your car won’t be safe after repair.

Our preferred insurers understand the way hidden damage and supplements work. They allow our team to spends the time doing what we’re great at – excellence in auto body repair.

What should I do if you don’t deal with car insurance companies?

Our collision specialists will write an estimate for the damage we can see. We’ll provide that written estimate directly to you.

If we are not working directly with a preferred insurer, you can share the estimate with your insurance company. As the policy holder, you can negotiate with them about what they will pay for repairs. We are happy to work directly with you to provide all the information you need about our estimate.

In many cases, we won’t know how much damage there actually is until we start taking your car apart. During repair, when we find hidden damage , we stop the work and let you know what we’ve found. We’ll give you a written supplement.

As the policy holder, you can share the supplement with your insurance company and work directly with them to see whether or not they will pay for the hidden damage repair. If they ask questions you don’t understand, we’ll work with you and provide answers.

What happens if my car insurance company won’t cover the full cost of repair?

Our team has been repairing vehicles for more than 30 years. We’ve seen it happen more and more – discount insurance companies are putting pressure on the entire car repair industry. Unfortunately, it’s happening at the same time that vehicles are getting more expensive to repair .

We work hard to provide excellent auto repair services at reasonable rates.

Vehicle owners are responsible for the full cost of repair to their vehicles. If there’s a difference between the cost of repair and the amount your insurance company will pay, you’ll be responsible to pay for the difference when you pick your car up after repair.

Do you offer payment plans or storage services

We’re much better at fixing cars than we are at offering financial services to customers. If you need financing for car repairs, we recommend talking with your financial advisors.

Unfortunately, we can’t offer storage for vehicles while customers make payment arrangements.

About Automotive Collision Specialists in Fuquay Varina, NC

Automotive Collision Specialists works with select insurance companies. In North Carolina, you have the right to choose any repair shop – not the one an insurance company requires you to use.

If you’re trying to find a good auto body repair shop near you to help, please give us a call. We’ve been serving neighbors in and near the local Fuquay-Varina, NC community for more than 30 years.

We’re ASE and I-CAR certified and offer a limited lifetime warranty on all the work we do. Call us today at 919-552-0333 to see how we can help!