Hi,
Someone scratched my car and broke off my side view mirror while my car was parked on the street [:@].

I got the appraisal done from my insurance company (commerce insurance). They have provided me a list of garages and few of them are highly recommended by them.

This is the first time I will be taking my car for repairs so this is what I know
1) You get the appraisal done
2) The insurance company sends you a check which is in your name
3) You have to give the deductible amount and the rest is covered by the insurance company

Now I called the garage (one of the many recommended/registered by them) and sent him the appraisal details. He mentioned that he will have to go through the car and if required set up a sub appraisal ??

My concern:
How do I trust this guy ? or for any garage ? I do have a guarantee of workmanship if I use the preferred garage. However, I don't want to get stiffled in to paying $$$ or by just bringing the car to him do I have any obligation ?

Not clear how this works..

Referred to the FAQ however it seems it was more for troubleshooting not for this kind...Any help or pointer to right location for info would be helpful
thanks in advance
ndp125

 

I am an insurance adjuster so I'll see if I can help
At my companywe don't have "preferred shops." We simply give a copy of our appraisal to the insured's (or claimant's) shop of choice. If they haven't chosen a shop yet we just give the insured or claimant a copy of the appraisal and tell them to present it to their shop of choice before the repairs get started. If the shop has a problem with our estimate, they call the appraiser and voice their concerns or advise if something was left out. If warranted, we will issue a supplement to that shop or the insured/claimant if they have already paid the supplement on their own.
If I were you, I would probably go with one of your company's "preferred shops." Your company listed them as approved because they must deal with them directly. That means if there is a supplement, the company will likely pay it. Some companies will pay the shop direct. Most of the time, in the case of "preferred shops" the company issues a check directly to the shop. All you should have to pay will be your deductible. If there is a supplement, the shop should get it approved by your insurance company before making the repairs for which the supplement is required. If the insurance company does not approve the supplement, the shop should contact you before completing the repairs the insurance company will not pay fore to make sure it is ok with you. 99% of the time, the company will approve the supplement. Appraisers/adjusters are human (believe it or not!) and we make mistakes sometimes. I have not yet seen a single auto claimwhere we did not approve a supplement.

You should not have any obligation to the shop for bringing it in and having the shop complete their own estimate. That is part of the process and is needed to make sure the insurance adjuster/appraiser didn't forget something. That way the shop can contact the insurance company and point out what was left out before they even start on the repairs.

 

Sincethe insurance gave you a list of shops, maybeyou can get anyone else (not the insurance company) to recommend which ones are good from the standpoint of quality &workmanship.