These are some things you might have not been aware about the process of preparing your car.
If you have recently been involved in an auto accident and your vehicle has not been repaired, you should obtain at least two written estimates from body shops. In many places, former insurance or body shop estimators now provide forensic services for a reasonable fee.
If the damage is not repaired, however, the insurance company is off the hook for the many items that they failed to include in the initial estimate....
If possible, it is very important to conduct independent estimates of property damage. It should come as no surprise that the damage appraisals conducted by the insurance companies will tend to skew toward lower dollar values, while independent estimators will uncover damage not recognized or intentionally disregarded by insurance companies.
If you don’t want to go through the trouble or take on the expense of getting an independent property damage report from a forensic investigator, then at the very least make sure that you get your car’s damage repaired at a qualified repair facility. Sadly, and especially in hard economic times, many people will choose not to repair their car, using the money from the property damage settlement to pay for other, perhaps more pressing needs.
If the damage is not repaired, however, the insurance company is off the hook for the many items that they failed to include in the initial estimate. Insurance companies notoriously omit significant items from initial estimates, hoping that the truth is never revealed.
At the Law Offices of Hector C. Perez, we can put you in contact with a qualified repair shop. Once a qualified repair shop gets involved, this often results in a supplemental appraisal from the insurance company, accompanied by an additional payment.
By doing this correctly, our office can help make sure that you are made whole for your property damage claim. Call our office at (562) 484-7009 for more information!
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