My fun insurance claim experience

[YunniorO]

So I’ve had the best experience with Allstate lately (sarcasm of course).

I was involved in an accident late December, it was pretty minor, but the left rear passenger door has some pretty awful dents.

I filed a claim with the other parties insurance as they were at fault and thanks to the Fitcam I had installed, I had video proof too (which actually helped to speed up the claim process). The other persons insurance took took fault for the accident and we started the process of getting me into an Allstate authorized repair provider. Now this is where the fun begins and I honestly also blame myself for not researching these places.

The first shop I took the car to was a crash champions, who inspected the vehicle and then told me they could not work on the vehicle since it’s aluminum. Okay fine, I called Allstate, explained the situation and we found another repair center that could work on aluminum vehicles, this was a caliber collision.

This shop was very helpful, they inspected the car again and gave me an estimate. Right when I was about to go on my merry way, the tech told me “just make sure the gas tank has is at least 3/4 full when you drop it off” - I thought it was just poor wording so I told him “Oh, so since it’s electric do you just want me to charge it as much as possible before I drop it off?”. I was then told by the tech that they didn’t know it was electric and can’t work on electric vehicles. I’m surprised the tech didn’t notice this immediately considering the car has no tailpipes lol

At this point, I was a little upset. I should have done the research, but I kind of just assumed Allstate would be communicating this information with the repair centers, but apparently not.

I called Allstate back again, explained the situation and I was pretty much told “Oh do you know any repair centers that can service EVs then”. Me being annoyed but wanting to finally get the car repaired, I called a ford dealership that used to do body work and unfortunately they were actually no longer a body shop. I then called another repair center and confirmed they could work on EVs and aluminum vehicles - this repair center thankfully could. I brought the vehicle in, had it inspected and the preliminary estimate was sent to Allstate.

This is the first time I’ve ever been in an accident, but this has definitely been a learning experience. I guess part of me thought adjusters would be doing some homework on the cars they’re dealing with, but I guess not! Instead, it was three weeks of me bouncing from repair center to repair center. Hopefully others have had better experiences, but I thought I’d share my experience.

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[YunniorO]

Also if anyone’s curious about the estimate, here you go!

 

[ArthurDOB]

I hope I never needs the services of a body shop, but if I do this is good to know. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[B177y]

That estimate actually isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Your experience with the process however, is not surprising.

 

[Earplug]

Did you contact YOUR insurance carrier? If not, why not? The other party's insurance, I am assuming Allstate, has no contractual relationship with you. They are not on your side. You pay your insurance company thousands of dollars to take care of YOU! Use them!

 

[YunniorO]

Did you contact YOUR insurance carrier? If not, why not? The other party's insurance, I am assuming Allstate, has no contractual relationship with you. They are not on your side. You pay your insurance company thousands of dollars to take care of YOU! Use them!

Yes, I contacted my insurance and they told me to deal with Allstate. They basically told me they’d only help if I filed a claim against my own insurance. I have full coverage too.

I believe they did help speed up the claim with the dashcam footage, but that’s it.

 

[HuntingPudel]

Back when I had my Fiero GT I got rear-ended. The process was similar, except that once the estimate was in place the other person's insurance company said that they had to total the car. I asked if they would pay for something under what the car was worth to them and allow me to pay the rest (since I could easily have sold the undamaged car for 3 times what they told me they thought it was worth, we settled on $500 less than their "value") and not total the car. They answered in the affirmative. So the car got fixed after a few months and I paid the body shop the balance. Fast forward a month and a half and I get new plates, registration, and stickers from the DMV, along with a salvage title. Never trust an insurance company to keep their word. ??

 

[Mjtee2]

Our MME was recently “totaled” because of it’s salvage value not because of the repair costs . . .

 

[Pioneer74]

The first shop I took the car to was a crash champions, who inspected the vehicle and then told me they could not work on the vehicle since it’s aluminum.

The Mach-E doesn't have an aluminum body or doors......

 

[YunniorO]

The Mach-E doesn't have an aluminum body or doors......

Just repeating what they told me.

 

[RickMachE]

Yes, I contacted my insurance and they told me to deal with Allstate. They basically told me they’d only help if I filed a claim against my own insurance. I have full coverage too.

I believe they did help speed up the claim with the dashcam footage, but that’s it.

Um, that is exactly what you should have done. You file a claim with your insurance company. They fix your car. They then go after thr other insurance company for the cost, including your deductible, if any.

That's what you pay for.

 

[YunniorO]

Um, that is exactly what you should have done. You file a claim with your insurance company. They fix your car. They then go after thr other insurance company for the cost, including your deductible, if any.

That's what you pay for.

We did explore the subrogation route, but we heard it could take up to a year. Once again, I’ve never been in an accident so when my insurance told me to go through Allstate, that’s what I did.

Hopefully we’re never in another accident, but that’s something we’ll more than likely explore next time after this experience.

 

[Pioneer74]

Just repeating what they told me.

I get it. Probably better you didn't leave your car there if they don't know how magnets work.

 

[Fremont Kid]

This is more than unfortunate because both insurers and body shops should know how to help you navigate all matters. Because the MME is both a newer model and an electric vehicle, I insisted that only a Ford certified repair shop be used for the damages described below. You have the right to select the repair shop - not the insurer. They can recommend and sometimes insurers have relationships with repair shops, but you get to choose.

My MME was rear-ended and received hail damage last year. Two separate claims. The rear-end damage was all handled by the insured's company. If I filed a claim, then I would have to pay the deductible, which I wanted to avoid. The hail damage will be repaired by my former insurer. Former because I fired them based on their poor customer service. Because the damage occurred while they insured the MME, they are still responsible to repair. So much hail damage in the Colorado Springs area that the Ford certified repair shop scheduled repairs for this April. But, they have demonstrated they know how to work on the MME.

Hope this helps.

 

[RickMachE]

We did explore the subrogation route, but we heard it could take up to a year. Once again, I’ve never been in an accident so when my insurance told me to go through Allstate, that’s what I did.

Hopefully we’re never in another accident, but that’s something we’ll more than likely explore next time after this experience.

The "up to the year", if valid, is for your deductible only. If the other driver admits fault, your insurance company may waive it right up front.

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