Car Insurance Repair help?

[Mr. Notorious]

For those that have gone through the pleasures of working with an insurance claim, I am coming up with some questions...

The biggest one is what is the right strategy to negotiate labor rates? For example, Mechanical, paint, body, and supplies all have their own labor rates. So when Geico says in their estimate the labor rate is $40, but the shop I chose because of their reputation and attention to detail is say $50, how do I work this? I told the adjuster the shop I wanted to take it to when they did the estimate.

I obviously have to pay the deductible, but after getting the same estimate from the shop doing the repairs I got nickle and dimed to death to a grand total of an additional $500. Which is a number I would like to minimize!

I looked up the supplement forms for geico, but my understanding is that's only for finding additional damages, extra repair time, etc. Not necessarily negotiating line items that don't match up.

Thank you all, it's been a big enough headache already...

[Cheveey57]

You don't have to pay a deductible ever if you know where to go. Geico will come to the vehicle and give you an estimate. That estimate is usually pretty fair, if it is at a repair shop
They usually agree on a price. Now here is where you don't pay the deductible, geico will cut you a check for X you simply have to find a shop ( that does great work) to do the job for X or even Y. If you are in or know people in the the hobby this will be easy.
Point of fact my partner got his entire Camery keyed by an ex. He got the whole car sprayed with a cole little parking nicks all fixed for $1,200 less then what the appraisal was for. So he got the car fixed and made $1,200.

[Mr. Notorious]

Thanks for the response, I agree burying the deductible is commonly practiced. But I'm not too terribly worried about paying some money and I'm not going to post up how to help me pull off an insurance fast one...

It's BS that I honestly think should be sucked up by the insurance company that I want to handle and address here. I really want to focus on the issue of the labor rate differential, and learn what are the rules or methods you guys use to address this? Shortcuts on Cleanup time, wheel balancing, tint, etc...

Thanks

[Cheveey57]

What I described was not "an insurance fast one" when they appraise it they cut you a check. If you can get it done cheaper so be it.

[trm2]

It is possible the shop will charge Geico $40 an hour, but you $50. Geico brings them a lot more business than you do.

It is also likely that Geico will not "up the ante" any because they can get it for $40 an hour.

You do have the right to get it fixed at a shop of your choice. However, Geico has the right to save money too.

Disclaimer: while I work for an insurance company, it isn't Geico, nor am I a claims adjuster.

[BigBlock69RS]

Really depends on the state. In CA you have the right to get your car fixed at the shop of your choosing. Really doesn't matter what the insurance company "pays for labor". The shop you chose will haggle with the ins co. Find a good shop and develop a good relationship, and they will do the fighting for you.

[Mr. Notorious]

Thanks,

I wrote them a letter describing how the car is 16 months old, how meticulous I am, and pointed out that going somewhere and getting it done correct the first time, is worth more than getting the car back with imperfections that I would not settle for.

When you really think about it, they give the same labor rate for a Ford Metro as they do a 2SS+RS Camaro, but I pay a higher premium. The car is being repaired in Florida, where it is your right to bring the car to any shop, but my shop doesn't sound too interested in doing the fighting because they know that if the insurance won't pay I will.

Keep the idea's coming...

[Kerr]

so, what your saying is they will pay you say $2K to fix you car at billys shop, But when you went to billys shop on your own it cost more to fix?

[SlingShot]

The way it works in Florida, yes you can take your car to any shop you want. The big but is this, the insurance company has a list of preferred shops it works with. As long as you choose one of those the insurance company will cut that shop a check minus your deductible. If you choose another shop with higher labor, you are on the hook for any charges above the estimate plus your deductible. If the shop finds another part that needs to be replaced, they can normally send in an addendum.

Most insurance companies are pretty right on in their estimates. I have found if anything they are a few bucks higher.

[sycraft]

They pay the "going rate" in the area of repairs, if most shops will accept 40/hr, that is what they pay, if a shop chooses to charge more, then it is up to the consumer to pay the difference.

[v6sonoma]

In the past I have brought it to the body shop and let them duke it out with the insurance company. It also helps if the shop you bring it to is a "preferred" shop. In those cases they don't even send an adjuster. The shop holds all the cards and the insurance company just cuts them a check.

If the shop you brought it to isn't a preferred you may want to see if another well respected shop around you is one and take it there. That's another option.

[Russo]

we deal with this all the time in the automotive glass claims and insurance area of business... Geico is only worried about saving money to benefit their brokers and investors... they don't give a crap about you or the body shop.. if Geico did, they would agree to the body shop pricing.. the thing is that there are so many shady body shops out there, that if the body shop you want refuses to lower the standards of their labor, Jimmy Joe's body shop down the street with a pitbull changed to the front gate will... when it comes to deductible waiving, the body shop is leaving that money on the table.. we don't waive deductibles because the people who work for me need to feed their families.. anytime i get a customer who asks about waiving their deductible, i turn to my assistant and ask her if i can take the difference out of her paycheck... it's never failed that she doesn't want me to cut her pay at the expense of someone avoiding the monetary expense that they contracturally agreed to when they opened the insurance policy..

[gafool]

Insurance is a scam!

[Mr. Notorious]

Thanks for all the replies, I'm really surprised to hear that no one here has pledged a case of a higher standard of repair than Jimmy Johns Body Shop that is the "going rate" for labor. No one has negotiated or fought this? Is it just set in stone?

Looking at the big picture, I pay a higher premium than a 1997 honda civic for many reasons, when it goes to a repair facility it is expected to received the same repair quality (face it, quality is derived from $) as the "going rate" of the average quality of cars on the road such as said civic?? I'm not trying to sound like a Diva, but in reality I picked this body shop because they earned my trust, looked organized, and made me feel comfortable leaving my car there. Dealing with insurance has been super frustrating and it's hard for me to grasp the amount of time that they waste. Car insurance would be so much cheaper if they didn't have an army of people paid to find excuses.

On an additional note, It has been 26 days since the adjuster did the estimate. Apparently the check is in the mail, but honestly I think it slipped through XX insurance's cracks. The body shop has not touched the car and has been awaiting anything from the insurance company. What a train wreck, over a simple vandalism claim.