Quick question about insurance payouts

So this week I have been rear ended TWICE, both by kids in my class. My truck is relatively undamaged compared to both of theirs. Both accidents are not my fault so their insurances will be paying out to have my car fixed. I have a quote from the first insurances recommended shop saying they will replace the rear bumper and color match it to the body. This will cost just under $700 to do, however they will keep an eye out for any unseen structural damage when they start to take the truck apart and the insurance will cover that aswell. Now my question is can I get a check for $700 from the insurance but decide not to have the repairs done (the new bumper) and use that money to buy myself an allpro rear bumper, which is what i was looking at in the long run. I would most likely go to dobs or some shop to make sure that there is no structural damage but i was wondering if just taking a check was an option. I can post pics of my truck if you want(and the other kids cars).

on another note, i give toyota an A+ for their rear end collision, very little damage to my truck.

 

I would get a quote from a toyota repair facility, not where their insurance wants you to take it. They are probably steering you to a location where they pay the least amount. They are in a business, that is to pay you as little as possible.

Due to all the fraud around, they will probably not cut you a check. They may work with you, but it will take some dealing with them.

 

I bet some other TW'ers will have some good input but, here's my $.02.

I bet you can take the cash but...

1.) Make sure there's not other damage.

2.) If you have a loan on the truck, some lenders require you keep the truck in repair.

3.) Some insurance companies will only cut a check to the truck owner & the body shop.

It may be easy but, you may need to do some leg work too... Or you may need to either work a deal with the body shop for the cash or install of your bumper of choice...???

Good luck and let us know which way it goes.

 

Thanks for the advice, as to the second point, my truck is fully paid of (THANKS MOM!) and if I did go with the check method (if possible) i would take it to a shop and have it checked out to make sure nothing was wrong, both accidents were fairly low speed (>30mph) and I havnt noticed any difference in the way it drives but I dont rele know what would feel different. Any way i go I'm going to make sure the truck is 100% fixed. Im going to be driving it till the wheels fall off and i want that to be years down the road.

 

Yes we will be getting another quote from a shop who has done multiple repairs on my brothers truck, the insurance however, will only back up their shops work, they will pay for any shop, but only stand behind the repairs of their shop, which is understandable.

 

I don't know how it is in your state, but our laws in Texas says that we do not have to accept the insurance companies quote or use the place they recommend. In Texas the insurance has to pay what it costs to repair the vehicle where we take it even if they do not get a discount as long as the vehicle is not totaled. Many times insurance companies replace parts that are not OME. As to getting a check you are entitled to what it takes to bring the truck back to its worth before the wreck if you own the truck outright. So yes you should be able to get a check and do what you want with it unless you have some strange state law.
Now you may have a little problem since it was in two wrecks. That being, which insurance company of the two wrecks is going to foot the bill or if both how much each pays?
One last thing. A lot of people in Texas are not aware of our law on this and let the insurance companies pull the wool over their eyes.

 

usually if you want a straight check from insurance, "cashing out" it will be less than how much it would cost to have it fixed at the shop. now you can usually work with the repair shop and ask them if they'll order the bumper you want or if you can order yourself and they'll reimburse you in the end.

 

yes you can take the check, they are contractually bound to make your property,be it home or auto, back to they way it was. NOW KEEP IN MIND, there maybe an issue if you have another accident. if the other perdon has one of those cheapo depo carriers they may come back and say, o that damage was there before. carriers have access to what is called a CLUE report, its different from an MVR report. it specifically lists all your past insurance carriers, and any losses, EVEN comp losses.


so yes you can take the check and not do repairs, they owe you for your loss, but like i said there maybe some issues in the future. take LOTS of detailed pictures of truck right now, it takes five minutes and will help alot if need be.

hope that helps

cheers,
disco


( i am licensed inurance adjuster and agent/producer, if anyone has any insurance questions i can most likely help with answers )

 

it is called mitigation, the two companies will battle it out over who pays like you said, if one is a 'good' 'admitted' provider in your state chances are they will pay you then fight with the other carrier over who pays what.

if its 2 cheapo companies or non-admitted companies then you may start to get the run around and neither wants to pay quickly. the answer to this is talk to your agent and file a claim, what this does it get you a check that day and your insurance carrier's lawyers will go after the other companies to get the money back, and they are usually pretty affective in doing so alot a quicker than you just calling the other companies 800 number 10 times a day asking where your money is, lol! as far as OEM parts, in 99.9% or policies it states that the insurance company is only responsible to pay for a quality replacement part. your actual policy is the size of a book, the little pamphlet you get is just a summary basically. you would be surprised what is in your homeowners and auto policies in the fine print. ALWAYS ask for a full copy of your policies and actually read them, also you may find especially on homeowners policies that you are paying for something you may not need. could save you some money for example i bet you have 'other structures coverage - its called coverage B' it is usually 10% of the amount of the coverage you have on the home. but what if you are like me, i have no sheds, no gazebo's no unattached deck or carport, so why would i need all that coverage when i have nothing that would ever get damaged that falls into that category? so look for things like that, etc.

hope that helps and not make you more confused

cheers,
disco

 

the issue with this is that you will not get any more money up front, usually 1 of 2 things will happen


1. you get the same amount of up front money as you are now, its based on the adjusters estimate, then any additional payments will have to be invoiced to the ins. company by the shop. if the guys at the shop are your buddies this can help you if you have a deductible to cover

2. you get no check and they say tell the shop to do what they need to do and send us a bill, if it is a shop that is in the companies preferd list then you really never even see a bill or get a check its basically automatically billed to the company, the shop basically acts as your adjuster for the most part.

thats a really simplified explanation but its basically how it works.

SO NEVER TELL THE COMPANY WHAT SHOP YOU WANT TO USE, just say your not sure or name a shop not on their list, this gives you control and options, then the adjuster does an estimate and hands you a check. if you decide to go with a shop on the companies list you by all means can, you just give the check to them.

now you have another option, some companies biatch more than others, but you can order the parts yourself and fix it yourself, if the bill goes above what the gave you in the estimate the adjuster made you just submit your invoices for the extra parts you bought. usually a good company will reimburse you fo your time in making the repairs but at like half the going hourly rate for a mechanic. which is fair because a guy who does this for a living can most likely do the job in half the time you can, considering he has all the tools and experience,etc (unless your a mechanic yourself)



hope that helps

cheer,
disco

 

I had mine inspected and quoted had the insurance company send me a check, I replaced factory bumper with ATO bolt on replacement, replaced towing harness and had the bumper line x.