Hey everyone, some ******* hit my rear bumper of my car in a parking lot and left the scene, so im stuck with paying the deductible. My question is will the body shop let me upgrade my bumper if i pay the difference or will they only go with whatever the OEM is for the make/model that the insurance company pays for?

Thanks in advance!

 

Ask your body shop.

 

More likely you need to have your insurance pay you and then you have to go and buy and fix the damage yourself. The catch also is that you have to prove to the insurance afterwards that you fixed the damage and not just took their money.

 

Depends on the company, some mail the check after having their rep or shop do the estimate(s) on their behalf... and you never hear from them again. To keep your car in the same state or not is then up to you (common with hail damage claims).

 

Not really. I've never heard of that.

 

The process is pretty seamless if you work with one of the shops that the insurance company recommends. Work with the body shop on variances. I have been able to pay the difference in the past.

 

I work for an insurance company and if your car is free and clear no lenholder you can have the check made out to you and replace with what ever cover you want. Your company will pay to repair or replace the cover depending on how bad the damage is.

 

Not true. The insurance company owes per the policy to pay the damages and can not require you to prove repairs have been completed. If you don't repair and get hit again they can deduct the amount they paid prior from the new loss.

 

How bad is the damage? Photo?

 

Even if their is a lien on the car. I filed a claim to get my bumper fixed the other day and I still owe on my car. Geico cut a check right then and there to me.

 

True. It depends on the company limit they can pay before informing the lienholder.

 

I've never heard of that. As an insurance field adjuster our company owes for damages and that is all. They are not the monitor of your vehicle. If you chose not to fix it that is up to you. Now again if there is lienholder then they may require you to repair the damages to maintain the value of the vehicle till the loan is satisfied.