General insurance question

[jdtranetzki]

Hello Tesla. I've got a door that needs to be replaced on a model y for an accident. That was my own fault. No other car involved. But I've never filed a claim before and so not familiar with how it works. I have a $500 deductible for collision and I've contacted the insurance company but have not filed anything yet. Surprisingly they said my insurance goes up $300 a year for 3 years. Not bad. But I can't get any guarantees on cost of repair and what else I would be responsible for.

So my question is; does anyone know? After the deductible, are there added costs that an adjuster will find and I would have to pay?

Curious to see if anyone has been in a similar situation.

Thanks!

 

[hsfrank]

here is the best way to deal with your situation. Choose a collision shop of your choice that has a good reputation. Tell them to contact your insurance company and get an agreed price on the repair. You will only be responsible for $500 no matter what the agreed price is, usually if there are items that are concealed, the collision shop will agree to have open items with your insurance companies. If after the work is completed and is to your satisfaction, there arises other damage that was unforeseen but related the insurance company will usually allow the shop to repair it , and not charge you a separate deductible. Of course, if there are other items that are not related such as dings or dents and you choose to have them repaired, that will be your cost.

As an example of this, I got into an at fault accident in another state. the car was left there at a collision repair place and took over a month to repair. I paid my deductible and when the car was eventually returned to me, I was not satisfied with the state of the repair nor of the paint job. Accordingly, I contacted my insurance company , and took it to a collision shop where they agreed upon the cost repair and it was finally done to my satisfaction at no additional deductible.

 

[hsfrank]

BTW you should monitor this process to make sure that the decisions reached in the agreed price or what you want. For example some insurance companies will try to insist on aftermarket parts. Another example may be that the insurance company may not agree the certain things are related. You should have the opportunity to discuss this with your company before you accept the agreed price.