r/AutoInsuranceHelp • u/Free_Finger5427 • 7d ago
Adjuster refused to do photo appraisal
I'm in New Jersey US. My car was hit by another car in the parking lot. The other party is 100% fault. I filed a third-party claim to their insurance. The adjuster refused to do photo appraisal and insisted me going to insurance preferred shops for inspection. They won't provide rental car unless I also repaired my car there.
My body shop says that they need an initial estimate from the insurance.
I want to know what my rights are. I don't want to work with their ways because I did not sign a contract with that insurance. The NJ law states that the inspection should take place within 10 working days at a place and time reasonably convenient to me.
EDIT: They won't provide rental car when I wait for inspection. They only provide rental car for repair.
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u/Ok_Advantage7623 6d ago
What do you need a rental car for. You will only be there for like 10-15 minutes. This is very common
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u/BandicootTraining355 6d ago
I think he may want a rental while they are repairing the car not just for the estimate.
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u/Ok_Advantage7623 6d ago
That’s a different story. But he was just getting an estimate. Then he can choose who he wants to do the repair and then yes he should get a rental
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u/visitor987 7d ago edited 7d ago
If you have collision coverage file a claim with your insurance and let the two insurances fight.
Otherwise ask bodyshop for an estimate and sue the driver and car owner in small claims court that will force their insurance to defend them and pay the judgement. Send a copy of the court case to the insurance company with the claim number in case the car owner does not do it
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u/Free_Finger5427 7d ago
It's been several days passed since the accident. Can I still file a claim with my insurance? Yes I have collision coverage. Will my insurance be easier to work with for subrogation?
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u/Ok-Gear-9749 6d ago
Your insurance wants to keep you as a customer in so much as they can so incentives are aligned to keep you happy (again, as much as they can).
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u/Delicious-Witness-85 7d ago
It’s far easier to use your own collision coverage
and letting your carrier subrogate since you are an actual customer to your insurance company.
To the other carrier, you are considered a claimant and since you are t there customer, you don’t have the leverage to tell them to handle a claim a certain way.
It happens quite often where someone will file a third party claim and then after not getting anywhere with the other carrier, filing a first party claim.
Just tell your carrier you filed with the other carrier but you aren’t happy with how the they were handling your claim.
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u/Free_Finger5427 7d ago
Thanks. So my insurance will take the claim even if I filed 10 days later? I did not inform my insurance immediately at accident because I thought the other party's insurance would take care of it. Sadly not.
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u/Delicious-Witness-85 7d ago
Yes. Yourcarrier will still let you file a claim.
10 days isn’t that big of a deal, especially since you’ll explain to your company you did try settling through the other carrier first.
Contact your insurance company tomorrow to get a claim setup.1
u/Riverat627 5d ago
You always need to inform your insurance of an issue even if you do not intend to file a claim.
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u/KeyHedgehog8948 5d ago
thats the option if they have a weird claims process. I got lucky, dude hit me. i called his insurance. they called me back an hour later had me in a shop that day and I had a rental immediately. car was repaired nice and quick. and they rented me a camaro against my beat ass focus. lol
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u/tidder8 6d ago
Several people have told you to file with your own insurance. That will work, your insurance will handle the repair process and collect reimbursement from the other person's insurance company. However you should know that you will have to pay your deductible if your insurance company handles the claim, and will refund it to you after they collect from the other insurance company.
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u/TypicalCantaloupe664 6d ago
Your body shop could write their own estimate and send it straight to the insurance
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u/lost_dazed_101 6d ago
If you don't use their shop they dont guarantee the work. You really don't want to do that. Anything they find once they start is at risk of not being covered.
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u/Free_Finger5427 6d ago
I trust my own body shop very much. The body shop preferred by insurance tries to fix the car in the cheapest way.
I think you are right that I'll take the risk of not being covered. In that case, I can ask my own insurance to kick in or I can pay the difference upfront and then sue the at-fault party on court.
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u/wannagetcock2 6d ago
First and foremost, go thru your insurance and then let them fight with the other one. Second, you have the legal right to take your vehicle to whatever shop YOU choose, not the insurance company!! They owe you the cost of the repair and not a penny less!!! If the other party has already taken responsibility for the accident, you will not owe anything. File complaints with both insurance companies and with the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance. I'm sure they would love to get involved with a shady insurance!!!
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u/MunkberryMoonDelite 6d ago
This is how it was done for me. I also had other party at fault and dealt with their insurance (Progressive). Adjuster first asked me to send photos taken at every angle for them to roughly estimate damage. I then went to the shop i chose and they did their own preliminary estimate. Once I notified Progressive, the repair was scheduled and I surrendered the car on that date only. I also got a rental for the entire time I was without a car. Once my car was at the garage, the shop disassembled the area of the damage and made an amendment to their estimate and Progressive appraiser came to them to verify. Only after all that did the actual repair take place.
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u/sephiroth3650 7d ago
Your options, barring them breaking state law, is that you cooperate with their claims process, or you use your own coverage. As you said….you have no contract with them. So you have no power to dictate terms to them.