Auto Claim Question

[C_schwartz]

I hit a coyote about a year ago, I did not file a police report that night as it was late and I was driving home from a long road trip. At the time I could not afford my deductible, however the damage was only cosmetic and the car was still drive-able so I did not file a claim. I have been driving it since then and I have finally saved enough for to pay for the deductible, however, I am worried since its been so long that when I do file, my claim may not be accepted. So I guess my general question, is what I should do going forward?

 

[adjusterjack]

First thing I suggest you do is find out how much it's going to cost to repair. If it's higher than your deductible but reasonably close, go to a few more places and get it trimmed down a bit, if it's only cosmetic, and get it closer or below your deductible.

Then consider not making the claim at all. You'll have a hard time proving when it happened and if you get denied your claim will be on record even if you don't get paid and that becomes an underwriting issue.

Come back with the answers to these questions:

How much is your deductible?
How much will the cosmetic repair cost?

 

[C_schwartz]

I have a $1000 comprehensive deductible. I have gotten a few estimates for the repair and the lowest I have found is for $2500.

 

[fed up]

That sure is a lot of cosmetic damage. Perhaps filing the claim right after the accident would have worked to your advantage you would have evidence of striking the animal (hair, blood) and if no lien you would have received the balance of the claim. Now you could have the claim classified as a collision instead of comprehensive. Of course you could always turn it in as a new hit instead of a year old hit but be very careful if you go that route

 

[C_schwartz]

It’s a 2016 Ford, the coyote took out a good portion of the plastic bumper on the front right side. There’s still some hair stuck in the bumper. I’m thinking about saying it was a fresh hit? Is there any real way to tell the damage is older than I might say it is?

 

[fed up]

It’s a 2016 Ford, the coyote took out a good portion of the plastic bumper on the front right side. There’s still some hair stuck in the bumper. I’m thinking about saying it was a fresh hit? Is there any real way to tell the damage is older than I might say it is?

Not really, just tell them you hit it some time ago and wanted to get an estimate for the damage before you decided if you wanted to place a claim or not. I would not give an exact date and let the adjuster fill in the blank.
I advised to be careful because of a scam that was running in Philadelphia where a body shop was hitting vehicles with frozen deer carcasses in order to get hair transfer and make for Comp claims. I would backtrack the event by about 2 months

 

[adjusterjack]

I have gotten a few estimates for the repair and the lowest I have found is for $2500.

Upload a photo and a copy of the lowest estimate if you would like some comments about it.

I’m thinking about saying it was a fresh hit? Is there any real way to tell the damage is older than I might say it is?

An experienced adjuster might be able to tell. My best advice is never lie to your insurance company.

I would not give an exact date and let the adjuster fill in the blank.

Made me laugh there. If a policyholder tried that with me I'd be asking a lot of questions.

 

[InsCommentary]

"I’m thinking about saying it was a fresh hit? Is there any real way to tell the damage is older than I might say it is?"

Filing a false insurance claim is a felony:

Kansas Statutes Chapter 40. Insurance § 40-2,118 | FindLaw

Here are the incarceration penalties:

https://sentencing.ks.gov/docs/defa...ange---nondrug-offenses.pdf?sfvrsn=61fcfb3f_0

 

[fed up]

I can say that I hit an animal and attest that it was a few weeks ago or last night. I can't count how many times someone called in a claim and did not know the exact date of the accident and I also watched a Claims adjuster place 7 claims on a vehicle at one time as he circled the vehicle pointing out additional damage with the customer, each of which had its own deductible

 

[Allen Trent]

I can say that I hit an animal and attest that it was a few weeks ago or last night. I can't count how many times someone called in a claim and did not know the exact date of the accident and I also watched a Claims adjuster place 7 claims on a vehicle at one time as he circled the vehicle pointing out additional damage with the customer, each of which had its own deductible

With social media these days, alot easier to be caught lying about a claim or claim date because most people post about the cool item they hit or hit them. Sounds like this guy is outside the standard number of days to file a claim.

Maybe it was a domesticated coyote & you can find the owner. In some states the owner of the animal has to pay for your vehicle damage & you have to pay for the cost of the animal