When Your Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim!
Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim- Your car has been damaged in a Dangerous accident and your insurance company has paid to fix it, but when you take your car home from the auto body shop, you notice something that just doesn’t feel right.
The bumper doesn’t line up properly with the car and the paint job doesn’t match the rest of the car.
How can you make sure that this does not happen to you?
Read on to learn about what can happen if your car is not fixed properly after an insurance claim and how you can ensure that all your repairs have been made to your satisfaction.
10 Perfect Solutions – Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim
Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim- Following are the Solutions for Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim:
1. Learn how Insurers define pre-loss condition
To understand, you need to know exactly what your insurer means by pre-loss condition. The concept of the pre-loss condition is not legally defined and therefore it can mean a variety of things, depending on where you live.
Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim- Generally speaking now, insurers use pre-loss conditions to refer to a car’s physical state before any accident or other damage occurred.
Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim- To put it simply: if your car was in good working order before an accident or other incident made your vehicle less than ideal, then you should be able to expect that every imperfection has been fixed—or will be fixed—before they hand over their cash. What makes repairs easy?
2. Why it’s important to know the definition of pre-loss condition
This is the most important thing if you feel that your car was not fully restored to pre-loss condition. Even if it seems to be running okay, there’s a chance that further down the road something may break that is related to what your mechanic did (or didn’t do) during repairs.
If so, and you can prove in court that it was not fixed properly, you could get compensated for the lost value of your vehicle. This is known as diminished value.
Depending on how much money your case is worth, hiring a lawyer might be necessary. Lawyers take cases on contingency; meaning they only get paid if they win or settle your case.
3. Learn more about your rights under a fair practices act
To protect consumers from unfair practices, many states have enacted laws, referred to as fair practices acts (or FPA), that require auto insurers to act in a more consumer-friendly manner when handling claims. For example, if you believe your insurer isn’t repairing your car properly, you might be able to take action under your state’s FPA.
In California, for example, all claimants are entitled to:
(1) reasonable access to their vehicles and repairs;
(2) timely repair completion; and
(3) reasonable time for resale or disposal of damaged or totalled vehicles. Find out what other rights you may have in your state by researching your state’s FPA provisions—and file a complaint if something seems fishy!
4. Review all documents carefully before signing anything
Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim- The first step is to always review all documents carefully before signing anything. If you don’t understand a clause, or if something looks off, ask about it immediately so you can get clarification and then proceed with care.
If a representative won’t answer your questions or comes back with vague answers, it could be a red flag that something isn’t right. Before you sign any documents.
Whether they are related to your insurance claim or not—seek legal advice to ensure that what is presented is in your best interest and protects your rights.
5. Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim- Consider your legal options!
There are several reasons why your car may not be fixed properly, including sloppy repair work or your insurer’s refusal to approve all required repairs.
First, if you believe that repair work is subpar, bring it up with your insurance company and point out specifics that concern you (e.g., poor paint match). If your insurer refuses to address your concerns, contact a personal injury attorney to discuss legal action.
6. Understand the appraisal process so you don’t lose any value from your vehicle
Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim- Appraisals are a part of every insurance claim and they make sure that both parties get compensated fairly.
Appraisers examine your vehicle, document its damage, determine its pre-loss condition, and then decide what it’s worth. That value is called the actual cash value, or ACV.
Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim- If your car is fully restored to pre-loss condition, you’ll lose no value from your vehicle.
But if your insurer doesn’t restore it properly, you could end up with less than you expected or even be forced to accept a lower payout than anticipated. Here’s how to ensure that doesn’t happen
7. Seek an attorney
If you have been in a serious car accident, it’s a good idea to contact a local attorney who can help with both your insurance claim and any civil litigation that might result.
The lawyer will know what to look for and how to deal with all kinds of complex legal issues.
To get started, you can search online for personal injury attorneys in your area, or speak with one of many nonprofit organizations like Accident Attorneys On Call.
These non-profit organizations provide free legal counsel to individuals involved in car accidents who do not have insurance and are otherwise unable to obtain legal counsel on their own.
8. Contact Your Adjuster
Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim- Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim- Once you’ve determined your vehicle has been damaged in a covered loss, notify your insurance company.
During that first conversation with your adjuster, you can ask if he or she is aware of any issues with previous claims for damages to your particular make and model car.
If there is a pattern of similar damage, it will be easier to hold your insurer accountable later on when you feel they haven’t made good on their promise to restore your car to pre-loss condition.
You can ask specific questions about what types of things have gone wrong with other cars and ask if those same problems are likely to occur again.
9. Authorized Repair Shops Versus Other Repair Shops
It’s no secret that auto insurance companies do not like to pay for repairs at independent repair shops. This is usually because these repair shops have higher hourly rates than authorized dealerships.
Although you can take your car anywhere, you are still held responsible for paying out-of-pocket if your insurance company doesn’t authorize repairs at a preferred shop.
If you are uncomfortable having your vehicle repaired at one of these preferred repair shops, or simply don’t want to shell out any additional money when all you want is for them to fix what they broke in the first place, then go ahead and take it elsewhere.
10. File a Complaint
If you’re not happy with how your insurance company handled your claim, you can make them aware of it. You can either go in person or write a formal letter stating your concerns.
If a problem still isn’t resolved, consider hiring a lawyer who specializes or has a lot of Information in auto insurance, and claims to handle any legal action.
Many lawyers offer free consultations and will work on contingency.
Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim- In many cases, a law firm specializing in auto insurance claims will be able to negotiate with your insurer on your behalf and help get things settled fairly quickly—or even better, sometimes they may force an insurer to issue more than they normally would have to compensate for time lost while resolving a claim.
How to Check Your Vehicle for Improper Repairs?
Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim- If you suspect your car has been improperly repaired, carefully check your vehicle for any signs of substandard workmanship.
Consider taking it to a trusted mechanic you know and trust to perform a thorough inspection. And keep in mind that if a company isn’t willing to provide written documentation about work done, that should be a red flag.
If you find signs of improper repairs and don’t feel comfortable repairing them yourself or taking your vehicle back to where it was serviced, consider filing complaints with The state attorney general’s office or The Better Business Bureau (BBB).
You can also dispute credit card charges with your bank, or contact your insurance provider directly and ask for information on how to file a formal complaint.
Final Words – Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim
Your insurance claim is complete and your car has been restored to its pre-loss condition. But did they get it right? It’s tempting to just say, Yes! My car looks like new again!
But with so many different things going on in your life and with so much else on your mind, sometimes there’s a good chance you just don’t know what to look for.
Car Not Fixed Properly After an Insurance Claim- That’s why we recommend taking pictures of every angle of your vehicle before it leaves your possession, even if they tell you that their process involves a visual inspection, take pictures anyway.
