Question for Florida P&C Agent About Auto Claim

[yogooglethis]

In May of 2012 my mother was hit from behind by 18 yr old student on parents USSA policy.My 81 year old mother being the sweet old lady that she is let the young lady talk her out of waiting for police to do report because she was running late for her graduation dinner.They exchanged info and the young lady admitted fault to my mother and from what i understand also admitted fault to USAA.I spoke to a USSA and they said to bring it to a body shop which was one of their preferred shops and also one that has a good local reputation so we were happy with that.My mother was told by body shop that they had a " verbal" authorization to proceed with work and then 2 weeks after my mother picked up the car the body shop called to say the new guy handling the file has not approved the claim for 2900.00 because they were still waiting on photos from their insureds vechicle and the USAA guy that gave the "verbal authorization denies ever doing so my mother is out the 2900.00 plus the 300.00 for the rental car USAA preferred shop hooked her up with.

My question is if USSAA decides not to pay is there any liability on the body shop for implying to my mother that a " verbal" authorization is sufficient .
My mother has Allstate and doesn't want to make a clain because she afraid they will not renew her policy because she made a claim for an accident 3 years ago when she lent her car to her granddaughter..She has already told Allstate about the recent accident but didn't make a claim.

any suggestions ? Accident happened in May does USAA have a certain time period in which they must respond.Can we take action against body shop for implying claim was authorized when it wasn't? Is there a real risk of her carrier dropping her policy if we asked them to subrogate the claim?
Any input would be appreciated.

 

[djs]

This happened in May. It's now September. What happened in the interim? This delay can make all the difference in the world.

File the claim with Allstate if you need to. They will deal with USAA to subrogate the claim, its more likely to get done.

If the other party is at fault, it shouldn't be much of an issue.

Dan

 

[Josh]

This happened in May. It's now September. What happened in the interim? This delay can make all the difference in the world.

File the claim with Allstate if you need to. They will deal with USAA to subrogate the claim, its more likely to get done.

If the other party is at fault, it shouldn't be much of an issue.

Dan

I'm not familiar with Florida, but in NY a subrogated claim does have an impact on the policy. In California (where they don't even run credit) apparently they don't.


In every state four months is a bit extended of a response rate and someone is going to be asking some options. The sweetness of your mother notwithstanding, this is business. If I were in your/her situation I would call them again tomorrow and find out exactly where things are. It may very well be the case that they are just waiting on the info and that they'll accept full responsibility, but they need to line everything up before they do. Why this went to a shop without an authorization is something that is a bit odd because most shops won't start work unless they have it on good authority (from the carrier) that the claim is going to be paid. They don't want it to be messy anymore than anyone else does.

On the good news column:
-Your mother (and presumably the other driver) were both fine
-It seems like the car is back together
-The other driver seems to be accepting responsibility and doesn't seem to be changing her story
-Carriers do take some time to review things sometimes. They may be annoyed with their insured for waiting this long and that may be what is throwing up the flags, but it doesn't sound like there was a real lengthy delay (had a guy wait two years to file a claim and got mad when it was denied).

Specifically to the issue of Allstate dropping her:
-if the last accident was three years ago and this is the only one before or since, probably not a problem
-If they do drop her, BFD, plenty of other carriers will take the business.

 

[FullAuto]

An insurance company does not authorize repairs; the car owner does. Your grandmother has to sign something for them to begin repairs. When she does, she is responsible for the bill.

Just file the claim with Allstate and let them subrogate.

 

[Josh]

An insurance company does not authorize repairs; the car owner does. Your grandmother has to sign something for them to begin repairs. When she does, she is responsible for the bill.

Just file the claim with Allstate and let them subrogate.

Are you sure that won't adversely affect her insurability with Allstate?

 

[FullAuto]

Are you sure that won't adversely affect her insurability with Allstate?

Not at all. The fact the car is already repaired will be a big issue also. If the shop wasn't a direct repair facility for Allstate also, then they'd want their adjuster to document the damage, determine the repair times, locate the parts, etc. It may not have been repaired to Allstate's standards either.

But if that car is repaired and she hasn't picked it up yet due to funds, it will be racking up storage fees. She either needs to pull out the checkbook and deal with USAA's claim process or get her company involved ASAP. If being out the money won't hurt her, go that route.

 

[djs]

Are you sure that won't adversely affect her insurability with Allstate?

She would have to ask her Allstate agent that question. Unless she has had a series of losses (over 3 years doesn't count) I highly doubt it would have much, if any, impact. Its worth asking first though.

Dan

 

[Josh]

Not at all.

With all due respect, I think it's possible you're speaking out of turn. Unless your familiar with the rules of Allstate in Florida, you could easily be wrong. I know for a fact that in NY you would be mistaken. Whether it's an at fault accident or not, Allstate in NY would treat it as an incident. Perhaps a non-surchargable incident, but it would be looked at negatively and could absolutely adversely impact her insurability.

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Are you sure that won't adversely affect her insurability with Allstate?

If she is over 80 (she is) they will non-renew her in a heartbeat. End of story.

 

[FullAuto]

With all due respect, I think it's possible you're speaking out of turn. Unless your familiar with the rules of Allstate in Florida, you could easily be wrong. I know for a fact that in NY you would be mistaken. Whether it's an at fault accident or not, Allstate in NY would treat it as an incident. Perhaps a non-surchargable incident, but it would be looked at negatively and could absolutely adversely impact her insurability.

My "not at all" was answering your question of "are you sure". I'm not saying with confidence it won't affect her rates. I'm saying I have no idea if it will affect her rates. But as you said, BFD. Allstate has been losing auto policies at a huge rate for years. They annouce they'll pass State Farm within a decade and State Farm just widens their lead. Practically everyone behind them is gaining; either because they actually are gaining policies or just losing at a slower rate. Had AllState not purchased Esurance, Geico would have passed them last year. She can probably go to any of a handful of companies and get better rates.