Issuing Payment to Insured After a Loss

[ssandberg1]

If there is no lien holder on a commercial auto policy, do you issue full payment to the insured for the auto physical damage to their vehicle once the loss/damages are determined? How do you issue payment when there is a lien holder? I am trying to assess what the industry standards / best practices are.

 

[djs]

Are you working in claims or as an agent? Do you have carriers that let you process claims? If so, they should have their policies on this.

Personally, I let the carriers handle claim payments.

Dan

 

[The Colonel]

Like most things insurance it first starts with what state you're located. In my state if there's a lien on an auto policy the claims office must satisfy the lien before paying anything to the insured. For example if a totaled car was determined to be worth $5,000 and the Customer had a $500 deductible and still owed $3,000: lienholder would get $3,000 and the customer $1,500 with the $500 difference being the deductible the customer has to eat.