My wife's car was recently hit by a hit and run driver. Did some damage to the back bumper and rear fender. She filed a police report and all that. She got one estimate of approx $1500 to fix it. Then somone from our insurance company came out an appraised the damage. About a week later she received a check for $2700. Why are they writing a check for a lot more that what our one estimate came out to be? Shouldn't the insurance company wait until we've found an exact amount of what we are going to pay? We were told we'd have to pay a $250 deductible.
So pay your deductible, then take it to the place that charges $1,500 and pocket the extra $950. You know what they say. Never look a gifted w**** in the mouth.
I had an accident last weekend and the adjuster told me they were going to give me one check, but there was probably more damage than he could see and they would send me another check once the shop looked at it further.
I suspect the deductible has already been "paid" in so much as the check was for $2700 and not $2950. At least that has always been the case with insurance checks we received (the deductible was taken out of the initial check).
Most insurance companies write their own damage appraisals and don't pay off a shop's quote. So regardless of whether their appraiser is higher, or lower, they are only going to pay the amount their appraisal will come up with. Give the repair shop a copy of the damage appraisal they wrote. They will call the insurance company to come back out of they find additional damage. Your $250 deductible is the UM portion of your policy which covers hit and runs and is standard in the state of Texas.
