Car Insurance Claims Evaluation 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.
California Auto Insurance Claim Denied Because of Teen Driver?
Reader question:
I heard that you can get a claim denied if your teenager is on your California auto insurance policy. Is that true?
Phillip
Thank you for your question, Phillip.
I’m not sure where you heard that, Phillip, but it’s definitely not true that your California auto insurance company will deny your claim just because you have a teenager on your policy. Heck, you’ll probably get your claim denied if you decide not to add your teenager to your insurance policy, because if you don’t provide such important information, then your auto insurance company is unable to adjust your car insurance premium to fit the amount of risk you pose to the company.
One thing that I think you might be thinking about is the recent report done on parents whose claims were denied because they had claimed themselves to be the main drivers on vehicles of which their high risk teenagers were actually the main drivers. I think this might be the result of a bit of miscommunication.
Many people who deal out auto insurance advice, myself included, have urged parents to make sure that car insurance companies don’t automatically add the teenagers to the most expensive and costly to insure vehicle on their policy. This is definitely something that you should worry about, since car insurance companies tend to, if not told otherwise, put the highest risk driver with the highest risk car, even if the driver in question never touches the car.
However, making sure that your teenager’s name isn’t added to a car that they don’t drive isn’t the same as deliberately putting your teenager’s name on a car that they don’t drive. This is called fronting, and is considered fraud, so I advise every parent thinking about doing this on their California auto insurance policy to think again. The truth is that most parents who do this don’t even know they’re committing fraud, at least according to sixty percent of the parents in the report.
Make sure that you give accurate information and that your insurance company follows it when rating your policy, but giving inaccurate information yourself could land you in trouble.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarram.
Things To Consider Before Selecting a California Auto Insurance
There are several things that you need to be aware of when you are going into the battle for California auto insurance. Here is a list that will make you aware of what to expect and what to demand.
- Your name is .0001%.
California auto insurance providers, like car insurance companies everywhere, deal in statistics. When they see you, that is what they see, not a living breathing person. Therefore, no matter how many protestations you make that you are the most angelic and able driver in the world, if you are part of a demographic (or if your car is) that files a lot of claims, you are high risk as well. There are a number of things that can push you either way on the risk spectrum, from your job to your car, so it’s something you have to get used to.
- One is not like the other.
Not all California auto insurance companies are the same, which is why it is necessary to shop around.
- Price isn’t everything.
While getting a great insurance quote is ideal, it is also important for you to have a bunch of other things from your insurance company. First of all, you will need good rates, but also good service and an easy claims process. You will need to look at several aspects of a company before you decide that it’s the one.
- Rise above it.
In California auto insurance, you have to have a minimum coverage of $35,000 self insured, and $40,000 if you go through a insurance company. However, most of the time these tiny amounts will not help you when push comes to shove. Think about what you need and consider upping your liability insurance coverage.
- Get paid.
Every California auto insurance company offers discounts, but so many people just ignore them. According to several studies, Americans spend $500 billion more on car insurance than they would have spent if they had gotten discounts that they are eligible for.
- Tell the difference.
Many auto insurance providers will try to get off by repairing your car with aftermarket parts when you file a claim with them. While these are just as safe as other parts, if you don’t get the parts from the original manufacturer then your vehicle will lose value.
- Look out.
Your insurance company is there to serve you, but that doesn’t mean they will be all enthusiastic about it once the time comes for them to do so. It is your responsibility to fight for the money that you deserve.
- Think ahead.
Don’t wait until the last minute to read your auto insurance policy as you are waiting for the firemen to pry you out of your wrecked car. If you know what you need to do in the claims process ahead of time, then you don’t have to worry about it when you’re stressed and possibly injured from a collision.
Loading ...