Insurance refusing to cover some damage from rear end accident

[Pkmmte]

So, my Model 3 was in its third accident last April 19. This time, I got rear ended during stop-and-go traffic. The at-fault party admitted complete liability to me, highway patrol, and his own insurance. I even have video footage from my dash cams as well as TeslaCam, including a recording of him admitting liability.

I took my vehicle to get inspected 3 days later. I had barely used my car during those days. I hand-washed it right before taking it to get inspected, to make the damage more clear to see. I received the inspection report an hour later and it included the bumper and trunk lid. However, hours later, after work, I noticed a crack on my rear windshield. It was a stress crack:

I called the same inspector the next day to tell them about it but they said they couldn't do anything about it as they had already taken a look at it and didn't see it and that I should call the insurance. I called the insurance and they told me to take it to get inspected again. I kept calling them both until the insurance finally said I should wait for the body shop to take a look at it and give me a supplement including that damage. So I set up and appointment, letting the body shop know about and they said they'll definitely point it out.imess

More than a month later, I was finally able to take my car to Tesla's body shop in Pomona (long waitlist!). I just got the call that my vehicle is ready for pick up, but the adjuster issuing the supplement rejected the crack as it was not there during initial inspection. Now I'm at a loss of what to do. Should I keep pestering the insurance asking them to cover it? Would threatening with legal action help? Is my only option to make a separate claim about it and pay my deductible?

The other party and I both have Geico, so I doubt that calling them to try and recover the deductible from themselves would help.

 

[whatthe2]

So, my Model 3 was in its third accident last April 19. This time, I got rear ended during stop-and-go traffic. The at-fault party admitted complete liability to me, highway patrol, and his own insurance. I even have video footage from my dash cams as well as TeslaCam, including a recording of him admitting liability.

I took my vehicle to get inspected 3 days later. I had barely used my car during those days. I hand-washed it right before taking it to get inspected, to make the damage more clear to see. I received the inspection report an hour later and it included the bumper and trunk lid. However, hours later, after work, I noticed a crack on my rear windshield. It was a stress crack:

View attachment 418595

I called the same inspector the next day to tell them about it but they said they couldn't do anything about it as they had already taken a look at it and didn't see it and that I should call the insurance. I called the insurance and they told me to take it to get inspected again. I kept calling them both until the insurance finally said I should wait for the body shop to take a look at it and give me a supplement including that damage. So I set up and appointment, letting the body shop know about and they said they'll definitely point it out.imess

More than a month later, I was finally able to take my car to Tesla's body shop in Pomona (long waitlist!). I just got the call that my vehicle is ready for pick up, but the adjuster issuing the supplement rejected the crack as it was not there during initial inspection. Now I'm at a loss of what to do. Should I keep pestering the insurance asking them to cover it? Would threatening with legal action help? Is my only option to make a separate claim about it and pay my deductible?

The other party and I both have Geico, so I doubt that calling them to try and recover the deductible from themselves would help.

So did it crack after the inspection? Sounds like you didn’t notice it either until after the inspection. Or am I reading that wrong?

 

[Pkmmte]

So did it crack after the inspection? Sounds like you didn’t notice it either until after the inspection. Or am I reading that wrong?

I don't know. I was too focused on the bumper at the time that I didn't think to take photos of the rear windshield. I asked the guy who hit me to send me the photos he took and he didn't have any either. It's really difficult to see the crack unless you look at it under the right amount of light from the side, so it might've been there and we never noticed. That, or it formed due to temperature changes hours after I washed it that morning.

 

[mobilesuit818]

First, start making a document folder on Google Drive etc, and upload with time stamps, all the pertinent photos.

I would be hardpressed to believe that a insurance inspector would not see the cracked windshield and hence the denial as the damage was after the fact...its your word against theirs.

First mistake:

If you get rear ended or in any other accident where you are clearly not at fault, always always leave your car at the body shop, the same day or next day. This is like a chain of custody and anything missed is between the body shop and insurance. Not sure if you did this.

Next mistake:
Always document your conversations with an email to the adjuster, personally i dont take phone calls anymore just for this reason.

Next mistake, I dont have GEICO, but its time to switch to a more competent company like AAA or Allstate. Stay away from the the likes of GEICO, STATE FARM, etc, the say is true, you pay for what you get for, IMHO.

Saving money on insurance premiums is pointless and counterproductive as you will pay even more for when you need to actually file a claim, (your issue is clearly a good example).

(this message was intended to be unbias and I am not sponsored by any insurance companies)

 

[mobilesuit818]

It might not be worth the battle. I would get an estimate of how much the cost would be to change it out...

 

[whatthe2]

I don't know. I was too focused on the bumper at the time that I didn't think to take photos of the rear windshield. I asked the guy who hit me to send me the photos he took and he didn't have any either. It's really difficult to see the crack unless you look at it under the right amount of light from the side, so it might've been there and we never noticed. That, or it formed due to temperature changes hours after I washed it that morning.

Yeah that’s a tough one. Sure looks like it was caused by the accident as the other stress cracks I’ve seen seemed to be much smaller. Well, good luck I hope you get it resolved. Maybe see what Tesla has to say? They may be able to tell if it’s just a stress crack or could have been caused by the accident.

 

[Super_Popular]

3rd accident!.....you need to get rid of that 3, it's got some bad juju.

 

[BerTX]

I hate to be pessimistic, but I think you are screwed. You will have to pay for the window. His insurance won't pay because it wasn't seen by the adjuster. Your insurance won't pay because it is something that just happened on its own, not the result of an accident. If anything they will say it is a manufacturer's defect. Tesla isn't going to cover it under warranty.

I'm just guessing at what will happen, no kind of expert.

 

[jbrady3324]

I've been in this situation before and now always push the adjuster to make note of potential stress cracks to windows that can form. You have to press them on this. Also make sure you get value loss protection claimed by Geico. Your car, with 3 accidents, has most definitely lost value.

Otherwise you need to leave the car at a shop like the above poster mentioned. That's not always an option though.

 

[Pkmmte]

First, start making a document folder on Google Drive etc, and upload with time stamps, all the pertinent photos.

I would be hardpressed to believe that a insurance inspector would not see the cracked windshield and hence the denial as the damage was after the fact...its your word against theirs.

First mistake:

If you get rear ended or in any other accident where you are clearly not at fault, always always leave your car at the body shop, the same day or next day. This is like a chain of custody and anything missed is between the body shop and insurance. Not sure if you did this.

Next mistake:
Always document your conversations with an email to the adjuster, personally i dont take phone calls anymore just for this reason.

Next mistake, I dont have GEICO, but its time to switch to a more competent company like AAA or Allstate. Stay away from the the likes of GEICO, STATE FARM, etc, the say is true, you pay for what you get for, IMHO.

Saving money on insurance premiums is pointless and counterproductive as you will pay even more for when you need to actually file a claim, (your issue is clearly a good example).

(this message was intended to be unbias and I am not sponsored by any insurance companies)

Yeah, you're right, that's what I should've done.

I was just too paranoid about long wait times since I knew the rear windshield was backlogged and wasn't sure if the other party's coverage would be enough to cover an equivalent rental for 2 months, so I figured I should wait until the parts got there. Not that the insurance gave me anything for loss of use anyway. They kept insisting on a $26 /day rental, finally gave in to an equivalent but insisted that I had to actually rent a vehicle rather than pocket the money like AAA let me do in the accident before this one...

Not sure what other insurance companies I could try for a reasonable price, however. I'm already paying close to $4,400 every six months total for my policy. My wife and sister are in it, and they're both 18. Other quotes I've gotten were near $15k per year.

 

[Pkmmte]

I've been in this situation before and now always push the adjuster to make note of potential stress cracks to windows that can form. You have to press them on this. Also make sure you get value loss protection claimed by Geico. Your car, with 3 accidents, has most definitely lost value.

Otherwise you need to leave the car at a shop like the above poster mentioned. That's not always an option though.

Did you end up having to pay for it out of pocket in your case? Also, I thought diminished value claims only applied for the first accident in the car's history? I tried to file for diminished value with AAA last time and they rejected it saying I had already had an accident before that one.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

The other party and I both have Geico, so I doubt that calling them to try and recover the deductible from themselves would help.

Seems like driving in LA is rough on cars...

I can’t speak to your question, I don’t know whether you will have luck but you can try...

But as far as insurance company being the “same” is concerned: since both of the insured are with GEICO, GEICO effectively splits into two insurance companies, with a claims agent & adjuster for each party, for the purposes of resolving the costs. They absolutely cannot refuse to pay out on a liability claim just because the payment is coming out of their own funds - effectively they treat themselves as two separate insurance companies. (Of course they can still quibble about what was caused by the accident...)

I’ve dealt with this type of situation before and that is how it worked.

If this were deemed part of the accident - and I think you absolutely should hassle them about it and get Tesla to provide some opinion if possible, you would not even have to pay a deductible, since it is a liability claim against the “other” insurance company (GEICO).

Good luck.

 

[Leafdriver333]

So unlucky...
If I was the at fault driver I would refuse to pay for something that was found after inspection. Sorry

My insurance would probably fix it under comprehensive.

 

[graphic]

Get it fixed, claim your depreciation thru the at-fault drivers insurance (that will help pay for the glass), then drop that dumb dope-fein insurance company and get Allstate. Problem Solved!

 

[Paddy3101]

It's quite common to find additional damage caused, after an inspection. Often additional damage is found after starting repairs as inspection can only inspect on what they see.

They can't say there ISN'T any further damage that they haven't seen, they are only inspecting on what they have/can see.

Just because they didn't see it, doesn't mean it wasn't there. e.g. Damage under the bumper cover wouldn't be seen by the inspector, so can't report on it.

The accident could well have 'started' the crack, and it only developed over time into a visible crack. Are there any marks on the shield where the trunk lid could have hit it, and started the crack?

 

[Pkmmte]

Get it fixed, claim your depreciation thru the at-fault drivers insurance (that will help pay for the glass), then drop that dumb dope-fein insurance company and get Allstate. Problem Solved!

Unfortunately, AllState quoted me at $1,225 per month and that's without including an 18 year-old driver. Geico, by comparison, charges me $750 per month for all drivers included. :/

It's quite common to find additional damage caused, after an inspection. Often additional damage is found after starting repairs as inspection can only inspect on what they see.

They can't say there ISN'T any further damage that they haven't seen, they are only inspecting on what they have/can see.

Just because they didn't see it, doesn't mean it wasn't there. e.g. Damage under the bumper cover wouldn't be seen by the inspector, so can't report on it.

The accident could well have 'started' the crack, and it only developed over time into a visible crack. Are there any marks on the shield where the trunk lid could have hit it, and started the crack?

That's actually a good point. I hadn't thought of that, nor looked into it. I may go pick up my vehicle tomorrow to look into it. I didn't see any marks that I remember, but the trunk lid was slightly misaligned (raised) after the accident, so maybe.

 

[superbaka]

Small claims court against your insurance company.

No, you won't win against a corporation if you go to trial. (Thank decades of pro-business lobbying).
But that's not why you do it.

You do it because once they receive the summons, you automatically go one level higher on the customer service ladder at the insurance company. You will likely receive a call that they suddenly had a change of heart and an offer to fix the windshield. Waste of their $ to send someone to court with you.

I've done this.. don't be afraid. The most you have to lose is the $20 registration fee or whatever.

 

[SoCalDriver]

Hard for me to even comment, can’t get past the shock that someone is paying $750 per month for car insurance!

A friend in the auto body business for 25 years says Geico is consistently the far worst insurance company he has to deal with. They don’t care about doing the right thing and are ok screwing over their own customers.

For what you are paying a month to drive your car, I’d get something cheaper and wait until your rates go down. I love my M3 dearly but no way I’d pay what you are to have one.

 

[pcgqr1]

Yes you may save some $$ but Geico is the worst once you need to file a claim. All they say is a NO. Might as well as just drive without insurance. Just ask around body shops.

 

[SageBrush]

I was just thinking that insurance companies accept that people may not identify human damage immediately after an accident, but notice it a few days or even a month later. I'm not sure how this gets implemented reasonably with a car but the general idea that damage shows up later is not wild.