Reimbursement for Rental Car

dstone84

New Member
4
Early summer of 2016 I was in an automobile accident where I was not at fault. Stupidly I filled the claim with the 3rd party insurance company and it has been a tremendous pain in my butt ever since.

Repairs to my vehicle took around 3 months. During this time I had to rent a car and pay the upfront costs. I asked and argued with the insurance company multiple times but they stated it was their policy that I pay upfront and they ensured me I would get reimbursed when repairs were complete. I had no choice but to pay for the rental car which cost me a little over $2,500.

The majority of the delays in the repair process was due to the fact that the insurance company being extremely difficult to work with. It got so bad that the body shop manager has stated that he will never ever accept another vehicle insured by the insurance company. However there was a necessary part on national back order that delayed the repairs 3-4 weeks.

Now for the last 3-4 months I have been fighting with the insurance company to reimburse me the money. They are only wanting to give me $1,000. They state that they do not have to reimburse me for the time the part was on back order.

Is it true that they don't have to pay for time the part was on back order? I kept in constant weekly contact with the insurance company and they never mentioned it at the time. The way I look at it is that my truck was undriveable the whole time due to the actions of their driver. I should be entitled to the entire time my vehicle was at the shop.

Does anyone have expertise or suggestions on how I can recover the full amount for the rental car?
 
Was your car drivable while that part was on backorder?
If not, then they should pay for the replacement vehicle. If it was, then probably not.

Of course, they should have explained this to you. Also, I'm amazed they had you pay for the rental car up front. Most reasonable carriers will pay direct (not all, but 95% of the time).

Dan
 
I am not a lawyer so take this advice with a grain of salt but I would get my documents together ( print out emails and find all the documents they sent to you) and take them to small claims. If they continue to fight with you, then there is a good chance they won't pay without some "motivation".

You might also want to get a letter from the auto body shop as well.
 
I am not a lawyer so take this advice with a grain of salt but I would get my documents together ( print out emails and find all the documents they sent to you) and take them to small claims. If they continue to fight with you, then there is a good chance they won't pay without some "motivation".

You might also want to get a letter from the auto body shop as well.

Actually you would sue their insured, as that is who is liable. And that should get the insurance company's attention in a hurry.

I'll add, I once had a similar incident with an insurance company where the other driver was at fault. They were going to pay the rental car company directly. I wanted something halfway comparable to what I was driving. The guy at the rental company said the wouldn't pay for a car that expensive. I told him it wasn't my problem, and I wasn't paying the difference. I admit I don't remember all the details, but I got the car I asked for and never saw a bill. I guess the adjuster relented and paid for it or the rental car company ate it.
 
Actually you would sue their insured, as that is who is liable. And that should get the insurance company's attention in a hurry.

I'll add, I once had a similar incident with an insurance company where the other driver was at fault. They were going to pay the rental car company directly. I wanted something halfway comparable to what I was driving. The guy at the rental company said the wouldn't pay for a car that expensive. I told him it wasn't my problem, and I wasn't paying the difference. I admit I don't remember all the details, but I got the car I asked for and never saw a bill. I guess the adjuster relented and paid for it or the rental car company ate it.
Yes the insured not the company. Thanks. Rental car coverage seems to always be an issue ( that an trying to get OEM parts for your car)
 
Yes the insured not the company. Thanks. Rental car coverage seems to always be an issue ( that an trying to get OEM parts for your car)

Getting OEM parts is easy, just add the OEM parts coverage to your policy. If you pay the additional premium, you'll get the OEM parts.


Dan
 
Thank you all for the help. I am still fighting with the insurance company to refund me the full costs of the rental car. I filed a complaint with the Georgia Insurance Commissioner’s office. The insurance company stated that the supplement had a repair time of about 8 days. By their claims, taking account the time it took to get the vehicle to the shop, complete the supplement, and adjust for weekend days they feel they are liable for only 16 days. However, they are offering me to refund for 50 days of rental car costs. Yet, I had the rental car for a total of about 98 days. I talked to both the insurance adjuster and the body shop estimator multiple times per week throughout the time the vehicle was in the shop. The body shop claims that the delays to the repair were primarily due to the insurance company being extremely difficult to work with. Furthermore, there was a part on national back order for 3+ weeks.


I talked to the examiner at the Georgia Insurance Commissioner and he states that the insurance company is not responsible for part delays or anything over the repair time in the supplement. I disagree with this logic, the way I feel is that the insurance company’s driver is the sole reason my vehicle was in the body shop therefore the insurance company should be liable. The examiner feels there is a likely chance that the body shop delayed while working on other vehicles and the insurance company is not liable for the truck sitting in the shop.


I created a timeline of the repair dates/process and have sent if over to the general manager of the dealership/body shop. There are few gaps in the documentation that he previously sent to me and I have asked him to explain the gaps and send further documentation. In addition, after the truck was reassembled the body shop estimator said further issues was found. However I do not have any documentation with these issues. I am wondering if the appraiser/body shop worked off the books for some reason.


In your opinion do you think the body shop should be liable for some of the rental car costs all should it all fall on the insurance company? I feel that the insurance company should be solely responsible since their driver caused the accident. Also, if you think the body shop is responsible what do you think the chances are that they issue me some of the costs back for the rental? I have filed a lawsuit against the other driver in order to speed up the process of recovering all of the money I laid out for the rental car. Do you have any tips or how I should proceed next on recovering this money? This accident occurred over 8 months ago and I just want to be done with it! Yet it is not fair that I have to pay money for something that was 0% my fault.
 
If the insurer caused significant delays, and now will not reimburse you properly, check your states "unfair practices" laws regarding insurance. They could potentially be in violation of them. Cite any of the relevant laws in a polite but strongly worded letter. Then inform them of your intent to not just sue the insured, but also report these issues to the State DOI. (assuming they are indeed violating your states laws)
 
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