Cheap Vehicle Insurance Company in California

Reader’s Question:

Why did my vehicle insurance company here in California send this “adjuster” guy to my uncle’s shop? They already have a list of the repairs that he made to my car, so why are they bothering to send another guy?

Mei

San Jose, CA

A vehicle insurance company in California, and anywhere else in the U.S. for that matter, will send adjusters or appraisers to double check and evaluate the insurance claims to see if they’re reasonably priced.

Basically, adjusters step in as “arbiters” who provide the final say when it comes to estimating the cost of vehicle repairs in a shop. Their estimate is what the vehicle insurance company will bank on to prevent the contracted repair shop from overcharging the costs of repairs.

Don’t feel threatened by adjuster: it’s his or her job to estimate the cost of repairing the damage to your car, investigate liability in the accident and generally work for your benefit. You’ll have no problems as long as your uncle’s auto repair shop is playing by the rules. If you have photos or videos of your car’s damages before being repaired, present them to the adjuster for extra proof of the extent of damage.

On the flipside, it may be the adjuster who’s over-charging for repairs, so you may want to consider asking the adjuster to make a comprehensive breakdown of the expenses to check and confirm his or her estimates. Be especially careful if the adjuster is a staff adjuster who works for your vehicle insurance company.

Also, you may want to wait until the adjuster arrives before repairing your car the next time you get into an accident. Both the adjuster and your uncle can then make proper estimates together so neither of them will have problems with over or underestimating the extent of damage to your car.