Hail Claim Question

Grandma

New Member
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I bought a use 2016 auto in the spring that had hail damage. Car fax report did not tell anything about damage but dealer gave me a good deal on the car. Dealer said for about $2000 I could get it fixed. Well, in late June it got hail damage again. Adjuster came and looked at it and took pictures. He called me and said he pulled the vin number and it had $14,000 worth of hail damage to it prior to me getting it! I can't see how it would amount to that! Now I have more dings and he said he'll turn it in to underwriting and they'll probably cancel my policy. Why would this have not been on the car fax report? He said they only replaced the windshield.
 
I bought a use 2016 auto in the spring that had hail damage. Car fax report did not tell anything about damage

Carfaxes are often inaccurate. I have two personal experiences that demonstrate how that happens. Not relevant to this discussion so I won't go into them.

but dealer gave me a good deal on the car. Dealer said for about $2000 I could get it fixed.

Car dealers are liars and thieves. If you didn't know it then, you know it now and for all future dealings with them.

Well, in late June it got hail damage again. Adjuster came and looked at it and took pictures. He called me and said he pulled the vin number and it had $14,000 worth of hail damage to it prior to me getting it! I can't see how it would amount to that! Now I have more dings and he said he'll turn it in to underwriting and they'll probably cancel my policy.

Doesn't matter if it had $14,000 worth of damage or $400 worth of damage. The reason that your policy might get cancelled is that you knew about the hail damage when you took out the policy and maybe you didn't disclose the damage to the insurance company. (Did you?)

Insurance companies are often allowed to deny claims and rescind policies if there was concealment of a material fact.

If you tell me your state I can look up what the insurance company is entitled to do. Though you might find it in your policy. There is usually a state specific Amendatory Endorsement regarding cancellation as well as the Concealment, Misreprentation and Fraud provision in the main policy booklet.

Why would this have not been on the car fax report? He said they only replaced the windshield.

Again, Carfax is often inaccurate and car dealers lie.
 
Carfaxes are often inaccurate. I have two personal experiences that demonstrate how that happens. Not relevant to this discussion so I won't go into them.



Car dealers are liars and thieves. If you didn't know it then, you know it now and for all future dealings with them.



Doesn't matter if it had $14,000 worth of damage or $400 worth of damage. The reason that your policy might get cancelled is that you knew about the hail damage when you took out the policy and maybe you didn't disclose the damage to the insurance company. (Did you?)

Insurance companies are often allowed to deny claims and rescind policies if there was concealment of a material fact.

If you tell me your state I can look up what the insurance company is entitled to do. Though you might find it in your policy. There is usually a state specific Amendatory Endorsement regarding cancellation as well as the Concealment, Misreprentation and Fraud provision in the main policy booklet.



Again, Carfax is often inaccurate and car dealers lie.


Iowa. When I called my insurance company when I got the car, they never asked anything about the car. Gave them the VIN number etc and anything else they asked of me. Never knew I'd have to tell them that. I'd carrack reports are so inaccurate why do they even exsist?
 

2016 Iowa Code
Title XIII - COMMERCE
Chapter 515D - AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE CANCELLATION CONTROL
Section 515D.4 - Notice of cancellation — reasons.

1. A policy shall not be canceled except by notice to the insured as provided in this chapter. Notice of cancellation of a policy is not effective unless it is based on one or more of the following reasons:

a. Nonpayment of premium.

b. Nonpayment of dues to an association or organization other than an insurance association or organization, where payment of dues is a prerequisite to obtaining or continuing insurance in force and the dues payment requirement was in effect prior to January 1, 1969.

c. Fraud or material misrepresentation affecting the policy or the presentation of a claim.

d. Violation of terms or conditions of the policy.

Section 515D.4 - Notice of cancellation

When I called my insurance company when I got the car, they never asked anything about the car. Gave them the VIN number etc and anything else they asked of me. Never knew I'd have to tell them that.

Not knowing you had to tell them that doesn't necessarily mean that you didn't have to tell them that. A court might say that asking for damage coverage on your car requires you to reveal existing damage whether the insurance company asks or not. Could go just the other way, too. I have not found any court cases one way or the other.

I don't have access to an Iowa auto policy. Please read yours and find any provisions using the words misrepresentation, concealment or fraud and quote those provisions for me.

If carfax reports are so inaccurate why do they even exist?

Like any other product or service the company that promotes that product or service hypes it up with all sorts of claims and people end up believing the claims and relying on the product or service.

Carfax gets its information from a variety of sources like insurance companies, DMVs, NTSB, etc. Insurance companies subscribe to claims databases. Not all insurance companies do. Many don't report claims unless it's over a certain amount.

Your insurance company may have gotten the earlier claim information from CLUE with which Carfax might not subscribe. I don't know why there was a discrepancy. At any rate, this isn't really a Carfax issue since you knew the car had hail damage before you bought it.

Bottom line, though, is that your insurance company has no obligation to pay for damage that existed before you put the car on your policy and apparently the pre-existing hail damage has somehow been verified.

Let's wait and see what your insurance company does about it. I check back here every day if you have any updates.
 
Iowa. When I called my insurance company when I got the car, they never asked anything about the car. Gave them the VIN number etc and anything else they asked of me. Never knew I'd have to tell them that. I'd carrack reports are so inaccurate why do they even exsist?
What they DO state is most often accurate, it's what they don't say that lies by omission
 
Carfax gets its information from a variety of sources like insurance companies, DMVs, NTSB, etc. Insurance companies subscribe to claims databases. Not all insurance companies do. Many don't report claims unless it's over a certain amount.

For the record, I don't believe there is a single insurance company that reports to carfax, it simply isn't in their interest to do so. Supposedly some body shops report to them but I have yet to have a single body shop admit that they do this, though it could be hidden at corporate somewhere to make an extra buck or 2.
 
For the record, I don't believe there is a single insurance company that reports to carfax, it simply isn't in their interest to do so.

Well, that's 100% wrong. Even if insurance companies don't report directly to carfax, the report to other databases that Carfax has access to.

C.L.U.E. is the biggie. It's the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange. And it certainly is in the insurance industry best interest to report claims to C.L.U.E.

Go ahead and get your own report:

LexisNexis Personal Reports

Supposedly some body shops report to them but I have yet to have a single body shop admit that they do this

Have you asked all 60,000 body shops in the US? :cute:

By the way, here's what Carfax says about its sources:

https://www.carfax.com/company/vhr-data-sources
 

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