Insurace company hassles...

[Bmmerpilot@xxxxxxx]

In last week's episode.... my vehicle was hit and damaged by a bicyclist, and 
my insurer's idea of what a "proper" repair was differed from the body 
shop's. Mark Williams, an insurance adjuster from Texas, sent a reply (see 
Digest #1512 "Insurance company hassles"), describing how the insurance 
company "guarantees" repair work from their approved shop, etc. Thank you 
sincerely, Mark, for your reply, which sounds pretty much exactly like what 
my agent said- no surprise there. 

I think you, Mark (and most digesters) would agree that any visible repair 
diminishes the value of an automobile.  I think you would probably agree that 
if you had a partial refinish and "blend" repair on one hundred doors,  and a 
complete refinish of the panel done on another hundred doors, done in one 
hundred "approved" shops, that not all of the repairs would be invisible, and 
more of the "blend" repairs would be visible. 

My agent would not budge from the estimate from the adjuster, until I told 
him (via certified mail) that "returning the vehicle to the pre-loss 
condition" meant that the repair could not be visible to a trained, impartial 
eye. So- if the company insisted on the "blend" repair, I would take the 
repaired car to an automobile appraiser, without discussing the repair- if 
the appraisal made no mention of the repair, everything is fine. If the 
repair was visible to the appraiser's eye, however, the car goes back to the 
body shop until it's right, and I expect the insurance company to pay the 
appraisal fee. The repair was approved per the body shop's estimate, the day 
after the letter was received.

You make a good point about body shops quoting the work one way, and doing it 
another- this applies to any body shop repair. The shop agreed in writing to 
let me stop by and see the primed panel before it was painted. 

 Mark, I feel that you skirted my question, suggesting that I discuss the 
diminished value with my agent. I remember reading about independent services 
that asess diminished value due to repairs, and that there was a generic name 
for these services. Can you (or another digester) tell me what this is?

Though we may not agree on this subject, Mark, I do sincerely thank you for 
your answer. 

George W. Traminer

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End of bmw-digest V9 #1514
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